Obscured Memories
by Iambic Brose
Summary: Harry Potter is 24 and an accomplished Auror. Everything seems to have finally settled down from the hectic life he lived at school - okay, so the raids can get pretty bad and he has to deal with Cursebreaker Malfoy and his sarcastic comments, but all of that is easy. Finding an Obliviated child on a raid who's scared of magic? That one is a bit harder.
1. Chapter 1

"Cursebreaker Malfoy. Trying to complain to the Head Auror about... What is it this time? Not enough water in the break room?"

"Actually, it's about you. I was hoping to get you moved so I don't have to see your specky face every time I come up here, Auror Potter." Malfoy seemed to pause before digging in his back pocket. "Here," he said, tossing a pair of goggles at Harry. "Since you can't properly take care of your own. They're enchanted. I would have cursed them to suck out the brains of the wearer, but then I realized you don't have any."

"Ouch. You're really breaking my heart here." Harry caught the goggles and inspected them, tilting his head. "Nice. That the only reason you're actually up here then, or was there something else?"

"I do need to speak with the Head Auror." Oh, no. Maturity may have done wonders for how Harry and Malfoy interacted these days, but it didn't help anyone who had managed to anger him.

"Oh, Merlin, what did Dawlish do now?" It was usually their _delightful_ Head Auror that managed to anger Malfoy.

"Not Dawlish. Lexing just came down to us with a bad case of Blood Boils. Once is completely understandable, perhaps even twice, but three times in a month?"

"Lexing is an idiot." Honestly, that man didn't know what a shield spell even was. "If you want to hex him we'll all look the other way."

"That's just the problem. This happens with far too many Aurors. You lot should be better trained."

"Not sure how well that conversation is gonna go for you." Dawlish hated Malfoys, Death Eaters, cursebreakers, and people criticizing his Aurors. "Want any back up?"

"Fine then. You present the idea to the Deputy. He still believes me to be a prat."

"Ron is a prat," Harry laughed, pushing himself off the wall he was leaning against and giving Malfoy a quick salute. "Enjoy your talk with the Head Auror, Cursebreaker Malfoy."

"Potter," Malfoy said with a nod, continuing on his way. Harry watched him for a few moments before turning to see Ron giving him a _look_.

"Really? C'mon, mate, when are you gonna go for it?"

"Go for what, exactly? By the way, Lexing is an idiot. He had to get treated for blood boils _again._ "

Ron scoffed, shaking his head. "I'll go talk to him. He needs to learn one way or another."

"Next time I say he just keeps them. Then he'll really learn- Hey, did we get anymore information on the Hamish case? He's still missing, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Ron said with a huff, running a hand through his hair. "I'm gonna be honest, Harry. We're coming up with nothing."

"A ministry official like that can't just disappear. We haven't gotten a ransom note or anything? Threats, claims, a slip up?"

"No. No one's claiming it. No one is asking for a price. Just... nothing."

"I don't like that. That means they want whatever Hamish knows and they don't want others catching on as to what that is." That meant these people were a threat.

"Yeah. These people are actually clever," Ron said with a sigh.

"We need to find something before Rita and her lot get their claws on this."

"I'm doing everything I can. You wanna know what you can do to help?"

"Sure?" For a moment Ron had looked very serious. That usually meant very bad things for Harry, when he thought about it. "Wait. Hermione hasn't badgered you to talk about our feelings, has she?"

"She has, but that's not what I'm doing." Ron crossed his arms. "I need you to gather up some Aurors for a raid." Frowning at that, Harry straightened his back, fingers twitching towards his wand.

"How many do you need, where are we going, and when do you need us there?" The two may have joked around a lot when they were at work but Harry had learned the hard way that raids were serious business.

"Take seven with you, I'll show you a map, and in an hour would be great." Nodding, Harry automatically flipped through the Aurors on duty that were in the office. Two of them he was wary about but the rest would be serious about the matter.

"I'll get it done. Go ahead and find that map and I'll be back, I got to talk to someone real quick." Turning around, Harry hurried back the way he came, looking for Malfoy.

Ron nodded. "I'll be right back, mate." Sparing a glance back to watch Ron disappear around the corner, Harry frowned and looked back towards the Head Auror office, pulling up short as he almost ran straight out into a fuming Malfoy.

"Sorry-" Fuming. Right. "Not a good talk?"

"Out of my way, Potty!" Malfoy waved him off and brushed right by him- Stomped, more like. Jeez.

"Just wanted to warn you there's a raid in an hour so you could prepare for more stupidity!" Still so difficult to deal with, honestly. Malfoy threw his hands up in the air and gave a near scream of frustration as he continued on. "See ya later!" Then again, it was a bit fun riling him up... Right. Seven aurors.

No big deal.

::

"It's too quiet," Harry muttered, voice soft and near a dozen silencing charms around him and the group of aurors behind him and Ron as they crept along the hallway of the building they had managed to get into. "Quiet is never a good thing, if you'll remember."

"Definitely."

"Right."

"Ow," they heard a small voice say from further down the hall. A small voice that sounded _young_. Frowning, Harry gave a signal for them to halt before creeping closer to the door and silently casting a spell. There was definitely someone there.

"Hello? Can you hear me? My name is Auror Potter from the Ministry of Magic and we're here to help." There was a soft gasp and the sound of bare feet slapping against a stone floor before there was silence. Glancing to Ron, Harry mouthed the word 'child' before casting a silent shield and sending an Alohamora at the door before pushing it open. "I'm not going to hurt you, okay? I just want to know why you're here and if there's anything I can do to help you." Nope, not a sound came from the room as Harry carefully stepped inside, giving the Aurors a signal to wait for him.

"Lumos." A gentle light fell over the room - which looked close to a prison cell. There was a half-empty bowl of food in the corner and a pile of blankets in another corner. In the center of the room was a chain nailed down, the other end leading to a child who couldn't be older than eight. "Hello." The child had stashed himself in the corner with the blankets, as far away as he could get. The boy had his arms wrapped tightly around his knees as he stared up at Harry, wide eyes full of fear.

For a moment, Harry could only see a small child with broken glasses and a scar who was scared to be seen or heard. Biting his lip, Harry made a show of tossing his wand a few feet away, sitting down on the ground. He didn't speak, instead settling down and trying to stay as still as possible. Harry watched as the boy's eyes followed his wand and lingered for a few moments before looking back at him. He remained silent, not speaking a word, though Harry watched as he slowly lowered his defenses.

Cautiously eyeing the boy for a moment, Harry kept his gaze lowered a bit as he spoke as softly as he could, "Would you like me to get that chain off your ankle? I can do it and stay right here, if you want." The boy immediately curled up again, eyes widening at Harry and shaking his head frantically. "Okay, okay, that's okay. That's fine. Someone will be angry at you if I do that, huh? That's okay, I don't want anyone to be angry at you." The boy opened his mouth before quickly closing it again and continuing to stare at Harry. "Did someone hurt you?"

With a look around the room, the boy slowly nodded. Nodding himself, Harry glanced back to the door, seeing Ron raise an eyebrow before sighing and disappearing. Good. Ron knew when Harry was stubborn. "If you want, I can help you find your family and get you out of here."

The boy seemed to frown at him, though he gave another nod and extended the leg with the chain, glancing at the wand again as he did so. Strange... Was this child afraid of magic? "I'm going to stand up and move towards you now, okay?" Leaving his wand, Harry carefully and slowly stood up, trying to make himself seem small as possible as he crouched back down next to the boy, gently inspecting the chain. "Are you hurt anywhere?" The boy nodded again and showed Harry the tender side of his arm where a long line of red ran. That didn't look like anything magical.

"Okay, we'll get that taken care of." Trying to squint through the dark, Harry inspected the lock before sending some of his magic into it, focusing on the unlocking spell. It clicked off easily, Harry smiling at the boy. "I'm pretty good with locks." The boy stared at Harry though this time Harry could see the fear begin to be replaced with wonder. "Alright, I'm going to wrap something around your arm to stop it from bleeding, okay? It might hurt a little, but I'll be careful." He was so glad he carried first aid supplies for emergencies unlike _some_ aurors.

The boy nodded at him and held his arm out. Digging out some bandage, Harry quickly wrapped it around the child's arm, hoping the silencing charms were still up. "I have some friends outside. They're here to try and help someone else. Is it okay if I take you to them? I can promise that no one there will harm you." The boy slowly stood and looked to the door before nodding. "Thank you. Would you like to walk yourself, or would you rather that I carry you? Your ankle must hurt a bit after all that, huh?"

With a shake of his head the boy wrapped his arms around himself and stood beside Harry. Nodding, Harry moved towards his wand before pausing. "This is my wand. I use it to help people. I'm going to pick it up and put it away but I won't use it right now, okay?" The boy nodded and followed as Harry began to leave the room. Getting into the hall, Harry waved at the others. "Unaccompanied minor, hurt and chained and very scared. No sudden movements and wands away."

The others all nodded and stowed their wands away nodding at the boy. Feeling something on his leg, Harry looked down and saw the boy was now holding onto his pants and hiding behind him. Smiling weakly, Harry gently tousled the boy's hair before nudging him along up towards Ron. "Anyone else in here?"

"Nah, mate. Looks empty. We'll keep looking, you take him back." Chewing on his lower lip, Harry finally sighed and gave a nod.

"Alright. Contact me if you need me, though." Bending down, Harry smiled at the boy. "I'm going to take you somewhere safe. Is that alright?" The boy looked up at him and gave a nod. It was strange that he wasn't speaking at all. Well... Maybe it wasn't so strange. Harry had been much the same when he was younger. He needed to find out who this kid was and whether he was magical or muggle. "Would it be alright if I picked you up now? I don't want you getting lost in here."

The boy gave a small nod, holding his arms out to Harry. It took a great deal of effort to not beam at the sight - it was a bit adorable. Careful, Harry scooped the boy into his arms, trying to be gentle and keep his arm free of pressure. "Is there anywhere else you hurt?" He shook his head and looked down before slowly leaning his head on Harry's shoulder. "That's good, at least." Alright, how was he gonna get this kid to the Ministry without him seeing any magic... Maybe... "Remember how I made my wand light up and glow? That's magic. I use it to help people, remember? I need to use that to get you to a safe place. Would you rather I not do that?"

The boy looked at him and looked back down at his wand, looking back up at Harry and nodding. Maybe he was cursed. If he was cursed... Merlin, this was going to be a long night. "Close your eyes for a little bit, okay?" The boy tucked himself close to Harry and closed his eyes. "Good, okay, hold on tight for me, okay-"

"Hey, you! What do you think you're doing!" Dammit, Ron, he couldn't even secure the building.

"Bloody hell, don't you know? That's Harry Potter! And he's got the kid!"

"Ooh, that isn't a good thing." Flicking his wand, Harry quickly cast a shield spell before shooting off two stunners and running down the hall. "Okay, it's okay, you're okay, just keep your eyes closed and hold tight. I'm going to keep you safe, okay?" The boy gave a nod and held onto Harry tightly. For a moment, Harry thought he heard _whimpering._ "Okay, okay, just stay calm."

Rounding a corner, Harry shot up a few spells to get the other Auror's attention, shooting a few more stunners behind him as he dodged a nasty looking curse. "You all are gonna need better aim than that!"

Harry ducked down a hallway and Apparated them out quickly. Attention split and unfocused as he dodged another curse, Harry swore as he ducked and ended up rolling to hit the ground, sighing as he felt the soft carpet underneath him. Merlin, that was way too close. "Potter. Might I ask what you're doing here?"

"Malfoy. What are you doing in-" Harry paused, looking around. "Your office. Right- Shit." Darting up, Harry quickly looked at the child in his arms, checking him off as gently as possible, "Hey, hey, are you alright? Can you point me to anything if it hurts?" The boy gave a nod, still tucked against him.

"...Any curses, hexes, jinxes, or anything of the like on anything?" Looking over to Malfoy, Harry gave a small shrug before setting the boy on the desk and holding his arm.

"This is another friend of mine, Draco Malfoy. He's good at healing people. That wound on your arm? He can heal things like that with _his_ magic. It's nothing to be afraid of, and he's going to help you just like I am. Is that okay?"

"Potter?" Malfoy was frowning up at him. "Why are you speaking to him as though he's a muggle?" As Malfoy spoke, the child nodded and held his arm out, the blond taking it and looking him over. "This isn't a magical wound. I'm no Healer but it looks as though it came from a blade and judging by the age of the wound and the fact it's still bleeding, it was a cursed blade."

"Dammit," Harry cursed softly, shaking his head. "You sense magic from him?" He knew Malfoy was amazing at sensing magic and magical signatures, but he didn't know he could tell with children. "He seemed scared of it. He was terrified when he saw me with my wand when I first found him."

Malfoy nodded. "Definite magic, though... It's dark." Malfoy looked to the child. "Can you speak?" There wasn't a clear response this time, the child looking small and scared and staring at the ground.

"It's okay if you can't," Harry spoke quietly. "That's okay. Can you write? Maybe your name?"

"This is a medical question. You can nod or shake your head but I need to know if you can speak." The boy looked uncomfortable for a long moment before he finally opened his mouth, closed it, and then gave a firm nod.

"I heard him say 'ow'. That's how I found his room in the raid we went on." Malfoy nodded.

"Alright. So there could still be a curse, but a more mild one, at least." Malfoy looked over the child and picked up his wand. "Alright. What I'm about to do is similar to when you go to a doctor for a check up. I'm just going to go through and see if there's anything wrong, anything to fix. Is that alright?"

Harry watched carefully for any signs of distress. The boy nodded, but he looked unnerved as Malfoy took out his wand and began casting spells. Frowning, Harry moved a little closer, cautiously inspecting the boy for any open wounds. "Cursed blade, lasting bleeding on the wound... Hm. Interesting." Malfoy remained silent for a moment before lowering his wand and smiling. "Did that hurt, then?"

The child shook his head, Harry giving a small sigh of relief before he searched around for parchment and a quill. "I'm glad you're feeling better. Do you think you could write down your name? Maybe even your age?"

The boy looked up at Harry and slowly shook his head with a frown. Malfoy seemed thoughtful before he nodded. He held out his wand, the tip facing himself. "Would you like to hold it?" Flinching, the child stared for a long few moments before hesitantly holding out a hand, braced for... Harry knew what those reactions meant.

"Hey, it's okay. You can if you want, but you don't have to. No matter what I promise you that neither of us are going to hurt or yell at you."

"Hm... You know how to use scissors, yes? There's a right way to use them? You cut paper, packages, perhaps even meat?" The child nodded, looking a touch curious, and, huh. Malfoy seemed to be good with kids. "Scissors are a tool. Plenty of people use them the right way, but some people use them to hurt other people. Wands are the same way. It all depends on the intentions of the person holding it."

It was a gradual movement, but soon enough the small boy had the wand in his hand and was inspecting it curiously, seeming rather fascinated but also a touch frustrated. Harry spoke quietly over his head, wanting to reassure him but hesitant to touch. "He was in a cell and chained to the middle of the floor with barely enough room to walk. They weren't pleased when they saw I took him."

"Some of the New Risers, I'm assuming?" Malfoy looked down at the boy and smiled. "Actually, that's typically the part that you point away from yourself."

"Not sure. We were looking for Hamish," Harry sighed, looking down at the child. There was something not right... "Do you... Do you remember your name?"

The boy looked up at Harry and slowly shook his head. "That's what I was afraid of. In my diagnostics, I found signs of an Obliviation."

"Looks like a pretty thorough one," Harry muttered, staring for a moment before shaking his head. "We might need something to call you until we can get you your memories back. Do you have anything you'd like us to call you?" Looking back down at the wand, the boy shrugged. "Alright. How about..." It didn't need to be anything well thought out or meaningful. It just needed to be something they could call the boy until he got his memories back. "How about something simple. Maybe Michael?"

The boy seemed to think this over before he nodded. Malfoy smiled as well. "Alright, Michael. I'm afraid I do need my wand back, however. I'm going to do my best to make your arm better." Michael flipped the wand around so he was handing it to Malfoy handle first, giving a small nod. Malfoy smiled and sat down beside him. "Have a seat, Potter. This will take a few minutes."

"So demanding," Harry teased, sitting down in the seat behind Malfoy's desk and looking around at the files curiously with a low whistle. "They really love running you into the ground, don't they?"

"That's what happens when you're the best bloody cursebreaker." Malfoy was muttering, which always meant he was concentrating deeply.

"Well, can't argue with you there." Malfoy's work spoke for itself, really. "He's going to need to see a Healer, huh?" Which meant mounds of paperwork.

"Perhaps... Though not necessarily. Aside from the curse, the wound really isn't that bad. A healing charm or two will fix it up."

"The Obliviation, though? That can't easily be fixed." He knew that much from Lockhart, after all. He still felt a bit bad about that on some days. "That's not going to go away so quick."

"No, but... We've seen that Healers are not adept at restoring memories." Malfoy looked at him for only a moment before shaking his head. "He'll need somewhere to stay."

"Yeah... Michael? Would you want to stay with me until we can get your memories back and figure out why you were there? You don't have to say yes, but I think it'd be the best thing for you right now."

Michael looked back at Malfoy before he gave a nod. It was a long few minutes of Malfoy breaking the curse, but the moment he did, Michael was turning around to hug him. "Oh. Ah. Alright. There there."

Laughing, Harry shook his head, doing nothing to help Malfoy from his 'torture'. "Do you know what it was that the curse was even doing?"

"The wound itself looks to be a few days old, but you'll notice it was still bleeding. That was the curse. Not enough for anything to happen, but enough to suit their needs." What surprised Harry was when Malfoy began to run a hand through Michael's hair.

"So they needed his blood for something, then? Or they just used the wrong knife when threatening him." Harry stared at the two, shaking his head after a moment. "But why Obliviate him?"

"Obedience." Malfoy didn't elaborate, but he didn't much need to. Harry could connect the dots for himself.

"Now I'm wishing I used more than just a few stunners." Sighing, Harry turned to Michael and gave a soft smile. "Michael? I'm going to take you to where I live so you'll be safe until we can help you more tomorrow. Would you like me to pick you up?" Michael nodded and held his arms out to Harry once again, the brown eyes no longer fearful and wide, but instead doe-like and full of trust. "At least there's that, hm?" Scooping the boy up, Harry carefully smoothed his hair down as he tucked him close. Thank god this kid could still trust. That... That was good. Especially after all those signs that he had gone through something rough in that damn place. Perhaps Michael really was like Harry.

"I'll do some research, see if I can't find anything about this. Look into the news for missing children." Nodding, Harry shifted Michael before giving Malfoy a proper smile.

"Thanks for helping. I feel I should warn you that the rest of the team should probably be back soon. I may have caused a bit of a fuss on my way out." Malfoy nodded, frowning.

"Potter..." Whatever he was about to say, he'd seemed to have changed his mind. "Take care of him."

"I will. I promise."

How hard could it be to look after a child for a few days, after all?


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright, I need you to remember what I'm about to tell you. I live at number 12 Grimmauld Place." After the mess that was his last year at Hogwarts, Harry had changed the wards once the war was over with Sirius' help. It was still a little based off the Fidelius charm, but not to such a heavy extent. "Got it?" Michael gave a nod, his arms wrapped tightly around Harry's neck as he looked at him strangely. "Good. Now, hold on tight, I'm going to teleport us again." Michael nodded again, hiding his face against Harry.

Apparating onto the steps of Grimmauld Place, Harry caught his balance and gave a quiet sigh as pushed the door open before locking it behind him. "I have a friend who stays in my house. He's a house elf called Kreacher. He looks a little strange, but he won't hurt you, okay?" With a frown, Michael tilted his head up at Harry.

"Master Harry. You is bringing a guest." Ah, right on time as always. Harry shifted Michael so he could see Kreacher better, giving a smile.

"Kreacher, this is Michael. He'll be staying with us a few days until we can find any family he has." Michael gave a little awed wave.

"Master Harry be bringing work home. I see." With a nod, Kreacher shuffled away. Stifling a laugh, Harry shook his head and looked down to Michael, happy to see the boy looked to be opening up.

"Are you hungry, Michael?" Michael gave an eager nod, staring up at him. "Then let's get you something to eat." Heading to the kitchen, Harry poked his head in and looked around for Kreacher, frowning when he didn't see him. "That little- He's doing the laundry, isn't he!" Ugh. He was _winning_. Michael looked down at the floor before he looked up at Harry, letting his legs dangle. Resisting a laugh, Harry gently set Michael down in one of the chairs before walking around the kitchen and wrinkling his nose. "Let's see..." Something simple, just in case he hadn't eaten anything in a while. "Would you like some sandwiches?" With a bit of a frown, Michael slowly nodded. "Alright, I'll make a few different kinds so you can find which one you love more. Does that sound alright?" That had Michael looking up at him for a moment before _beaming_ and nodding.

Returning a smile, Harry used his wand to gather supplies, making sure Michael could see everything he was doing. This would be a good way to get him to see that magic could be simple and helpful, instead of harmful. Though Michael flinched away at first seeing the wand, he slowly leaned a little closer, watching Harry's every movement. "Right now I'm mostly using basic levitation spells. At Hogwarts - that's a school that teaches kids who are magical - they teach you all sorts of spells. Once you know them well enough, you can use them without really even thinking about it."

Michael slowly nodded, rising to his knees on the chair and watching the bread and various ingredients fly across the room. It wasn't hard to whip up a few sandwiches, including a cheese toastie, before setting them down on the table in front of Michael. "Eat however much of it you want. If you're still hungry then I can make more food for you, but right now just eat what you like. If you don't like some of it, I'll eat it myself." Michael looked around the table with wide eyes before staring up at Harry. Poor kid probably couldn't remember seeing that much food, before. "You know what I like to do? I like to work my way from the left to the right." Looking determined, Michael began with the plate on the far left.

It was about forty-five minutes later that Michael was sitting back in his chair and looking up at Harry. The cheese toastie and peanut butter and jelly had been devoured, but everything else only had one bite taken out of it. Smiling at Michael, Harry gently gave a small pat to his head. "Would you like any more of those two you ate?" Michael had flinched a bit at the pat, though he shook his head and leaned back in the chair a bit. Ah, he would have to be careful with the touches until Michael got a bit more used to him. "Okay. Would you like to go to bed now? I have a spare room you can have for yourself, and my room is right across from it and you can come wake me up for anything."

Michael seemed to think this over, frowning. He crossed his arms and looked to be concentrating deeply, but whatever it was, he finally gave a singular nod. This must be hard on him. "C'mon, I'll show you where the bathroom is so you can clean up. I should have some clothes you can use. Would you like me to carry you?" Michael looked up at him and gave a shake of his head, instead holding his hand out. "Okay." Harry smiled and took Michael's hand, gently helping him down. Flicking his wand at the dishes and left behind food to be taken care of, Harry lead Michael up the stairs. "If you need any help while you're staying with me just come and get me and I'll do my best to figure out how I can help. Does that sound okay?"

Michael gave a nod and smiled at Harry. The two got to the bathroom and it seemed that the moment Michael saw the bathtub, he froze. Studying the child's expression for a few moments, Harry glanced to the bath tub himself. "Would you like me to run you a bath?" Michael gave a nod, his eyes wide. When Harry looked close, it looked like the boy's eyes were sparkling. "Alright, it'll only take a few moments." Letting go of Michael's hand, Harry moved to start the water before gathering things the boy would need. Spare toothbrush, a small stool he would be able to step on to get up to the sink- Ah, he could shrink these clothes for some nice pajamas.

Once everything was together, Harry checked the water and gave a nod, pouring in the soap and shutting it off. Harry hard footsteps and looked over to see Michael watching the bubbles and smiling. "I thought you might like a few. I know I did at your age." Setting the things down and getting a towel, Harry nodded. "Would you like me to wait in the hallway?" Michael looked at him and gave a shrug before looking back to the bath. He stuck his hand in and a moment later took it out with a handful of bubbles. Laughing quietly, Harry opened the door. "I'll be right outside. If you need help just knock at the door, okay?" Stepping outside, Harry gave a sigh and, right. Looking after a seven-year-old. Not too bad so far.

It was a few moments, but soon enough, Harry heard splashing and quiet laughter. At least he could still laugh. That... That was good. He wondered if they should work to get the boy's memories back. Instinctive behavior to be silent and flinch away didn't just come from a few days being held by people like that. It came from far worse.

Harry remained lost in his thoughts, unaware of the time passing until there was a gentle knocking from the bathroom door. Blinking, Harry cracked the door open and glanced to the tub to see the bubbles were gone, Michael standing in front of him. "Done with your bath?" The towel was wrapped tightly around the boy as he smiled and nodded. "Want me to help get you dressed for bed?" The boy gave another nod and held his arms out. Picking Michael up, Harry set him on the edge of the bathtub before draining the water and reaching for the clothes, gently nudging and prodding and helping the boy get dressed before getting the stool. "Do you remember how to brush your teeth?"

Michael seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding and scrambling over to the sink, using the stool Harry had set out. Laughing a bit, Harry made sure the child kept his balance, unable to feel anything but fondness. "After you finish I'll show you the room you'll be staying in." Michael nodded and turned on the water, brushing his teeth with the toothbrush Harry pointed out to him. Tidying up the bathroom, Harry waited until Michael was done to gently take his hand and lead him back out to the hallway, pointing out the rooms. "So that's the bathroom you just came from, my room is behind this door, and this is the one you'll be using. It's the guest bedroom, but you can have it for as long as you're here. Does it seem alright?"

Michael stepped inside and looked around with wide eyes. He took everything in and when his eyes finally landed on Harry, he hugged Harry's legs tightly. "I'll take that as a yes," Harry laughed, trying to keep the sound quiet as he flicked his wand to tidy a few things up. "Remember what I said earlier? If you need anything or just don't want to be alone you can knock on my door and come in whenever you want."

Michael gave a nod and squeezed Harry's legs before he turned and ran to the bed, scrambling up it as best he could. Grinning, Harry shook his head, and oh, yes. Like this, things weren't so bad.

::

He thought that all the way up until he heard a scream shatter any and all dreams he was having. Harry was out of the bed and in Michael's room before he could even think the action through, throwing up every shield charm he knew and looking around for whatever had caused the screaming. However, he only saw... Michael. In his bed. Alone. The boy was clutching his blanket tightly and he looked to be crying. "Oh- Oh, Michael..." Nightmares. Turning on the lights, Harry dropped his wand and kicked it away a little, cautiously approaching Michael's bed. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You're here with me. Do you remember? I found you in that place and brought you here where you could be safe."

Michael was still crying, though he held shaky hands out to Harry, his head bowed as though he didn't want Harry to see. Harry took him into his arms at once, holding the boy tightly and rubbing at his back, "Hey, hey, you're okay. It's okay, you can cry all you need to. Nothing wrong with that. I still cry when I have nightmares, sometimes." Michael sobbed into his chest, despite Harry's effort to calm him down. Poor thing... Pushing himself fully onto the bed, Harry flicked his hands at the curtains to close them, focusing for a moment to light the candles. Always a bit more difficult without his wand, but it wasn't too bad.

"M- M- Mommy..." Oh... Oh, Michael.

"Ssh, I know, I know. I'm sorry." God, they didn't know where his parents were if he even _had_ any and why did Harry think he could do something like this? Michael held tightly onto Harry, shakes beginning to subside. "Yeah, see? You're okay. You're going to be okay."

"Mommy... Daddy..." If he missed them this badly, they couldn't have been so bad to him. Something else had happened to this little boy, and Harry hoped to hell and back that he could help him.

"Just give us a little time, okay? We'll get you home, I promise." Stifling... The room was stifling and hard to breathe- Magic. Malfoy was the one more attuned to magicks but even Harry could feel them when it got to be overwhelming. Could it be possible for a little boy to have this much magic? It seemed that Michael was finally calming down, still clinging tightly to Harry. "That's right, that's right. 'M right here for you. You're safe. You're safe." Harry shifted and grabbed a blanket, tugging it up to wrap it around the boy and speaking softly. "There you go."

Michael relaxed in Harry's arms, his eyelids drooping. Poor boy. Crying took it out of any person. "Daddy..." Sighing quietly, Harry gently ran a hand through the boy's hair.

"You'll be okay. We'll find your parents." Somehow. That magic, though... He would need to talk to Malfoy in the morning. And in his arms was exactly where little Michael fell asleep.

::

"Master Harry. Master Malfoy be calling in on the fire. Shall Kreacher tell him to call again later?" Staring blearily at Kreacher, Harry blinked a few times and _why_ did Kreacher insist on asking him such complicated questions when he wasn't even awake?

"Potter! Potter, I swear to Salazar and Merlin themselves-" Oh, god, Malfoy. Rolling out of bed, and not bothering to set down whatever was in his arms, Harry trudged to the living room and stared at the fire where Malfoy's head was floating.

"'S too early for this, Malfoy, what do you want?"

"The boy. I need you to bring him. I've a theory, but I need to test his magic a bit more. Bloody hell, did you just now roll out of bed?" Groaning to try and block out the incessant noise, Harry tried to bury his face in his hands and only met...hair- Oh. Right. He was carrying Michael.

"'S way too bloody early for this. What do you need, Malfoy?" As he asked, Harry forced his eyes open and gave Michael a few nudges to wake up.

"Get yourselves together, I need you to get over here, Potter." Malfoy was looking over Michael strangely. Frowning, Harry gave a slow nod as he ruffled Michael's hair.

"Give me ten minutes." Malfoy nodded and without much grandeur, the flame went out. Staring for a moment, Harry sighed and headed back to the stairs. "C'mon, Michael, let's get you dressed so you can go meet that prat again." Michael gave a small nod and when Harry looked, the boy had a soft smile. "Good."

It didn't take long to throw themselves together, Harry grabbing his wand and tucking it away as he stepped up to the fireplace, explaining how Floo Powder worked as best he could. "And then just clearly say the name of the place you're going. Wanna try it with me?" Michael bowed his head a bit and shook his head, though he looked alright enough with watching. "That's alright. You can just watch and maybe try it yourself one day. I'll travel with you, so just hold on tight to me and I promise nothing bad will happen, alright?" Michael gave a nod and held onto Harry tightly.

Only a moment later, the two were stepping into the Cursebreaker's office and Michael was looking around. Harry carefully set him down, ruffling his hair and giving a smile, "You can look around a little but try not to touch anything without checking with one of us first, okay? Some of this stuff can be pretty dangerous for kids as young as you."

"I think that he'll be just fine, Potter. He's clever enough, I'm sure." Bloody hell, of course Malfoy would go around sneaking up on people. It was a wonder the man didn't get hexed more than he already did.

"Never hurts to be careful. What did you need us down here for, anyways?" Something about testing his magic... Could it be about what Harry had felt last night?

Malfoy glanced to Michael and gave him a smile. "Do you think you can sit up on this stool, for me?" Michael looked between the two before giving a hint of a smile and nodding, climbing up onto the stool that Malfoy had pointed at. "Alright. Now, just like yesterday, all I'm going to do is give you a check-up. More specifically, I'm going to give your _magic_ a check-up."

Michael gave a frown but nodded anyways, eyeing Malfoy's wand curiously. Harry leaned back against the wall to watch, speaking quietly, "Last night, he had a nightmare, I think. He was scared and his magic felt..." Wrong. "Off." Malfoy nodded.

"I can feel the same, and I have a theory, though I can't say for sure... Michael? Do you at all remember anything strange? Maybe you were upset, and so something happened you couldn't explain?" Biting at his lip, Michael looked down at the ground, not answering or speaking in any way. That was an answer all on it's own, really. "It's alright if it did. When I was your age, I remember I really wanted one of the cookies mother had had made. When she wouldn't let me have one, I threw such a tantrum that the next thing I knew, the cookie jar broke open all by itself." Malfoy looked up at Harry with a significant look to Michael.

"Oh- Yes! It happens to all of us, especially when we're young. Um, I remember one time my cousin and his gang were chasing me - before I knew about magic - and I suddenly found myself up on the roof of the school!"

Malfoy scoffed. "Oh, is that it? That is nothing. You should have seen Pansy when her mother tried to curl her hair."

"I can only imagine the drama. If I managed to grow mine back in one night, I have no doubt Pansy went above and beyond." Harry gently ruffled Michael's hair, giving him a smile. "Long story short, these things happen to all children with magic. It's normal." Malfoy nodded.

"Indeed. Magic is as much a part of you as your teeth are. As such, we need to make sure it's healthy. I'm no healer, but what I do is... I make sure that there's no harmful magic affecting you." Staring at Malfoy, Michael slowly nodded, losing a bit of tension in his shoulders. Malfoy really was good with children.

"I'm sort of like the police," Harry grinned. "I make sure the bad guys don't win."

"Mm, don't mind him, more often he works at a desk."

"Yet I'm still more in shape than you, I'd be willing to bet. Do you ever leave your desk except to complain to Dawlish and Ron?"

"Perhaps at work, but have _you_ been keeping up your training regime?" This was nice, the two of them teasing each other like they were friends. "Alright. Potter. Wand."

"What? Why?"

Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "Because I said so. Wand. Now." Staring for a moment, Harry sighed and held his wand out, shaking his head. It was easier than arguing, that was for sure. Malfoy nodded and handed it over to Michael. "Alright. Now, do you see that chair there? I want you to flick the wand at the chair. That's it. No spell, no special hand movement. Just do what feels right."

Taking the wand, Michael frowned for a moment before staring at the chair and then flicking the wand much like Harry had been doing the other night. Immediately the chair was thrown across the room and smashing into the wall, Michael dropping the wand and covering his ears as he shut his eyes tightly. Malfoy whistled and gave a nod. "Your magic is a lot stronger than it was when I was your age."

"It was worse last night," Harry muttered, walking forward and waiting for Michael to peek an eye open before smiling at him and gently removing his hands from over his ears, "Hey, it's okay. Just a chair. You're pretty strong, you know. It's amazing!"

"Indeed. Are you alright, though?" Malfoy looked him over with a bit of a frown. "Hurt at all? Maybe tired?" Michael stared between the two of them, silent before he slowly gave a small nod of his head. He didn't seem to be in pain, so he must have been tired.

"That's okay. You can nap once we go back to my place. Does that sound alright?" Michael seemed to think this over before he gave another nod.

"Alright, Michael, your magic looks like it's pretty strong. I think you're going to be alright. Potter, I did want to speak to you in private, ask you about those goggles."

"Yeah, alright. Michael, me and Malfoy are going to be right outside this door. If you need anything just knock on it and I'll come and help you, okay?" Harry smiled, trying to keep calm. That magic had been _powerful_. "Good job on using your magic, though."

"I imagine that if you go to Hogwarts, you'll have top scores in your practicals." With a nod, Malfoy guided Harry out of the room. It was only after the door was shut and a charm was cast that the blond spoke. "You're not going to like it."

"I figured that much for myself." Running a hand over his eyes and fixing his glasses, Harry took a breath. "Alright. What is it. What's doing this to his magic?"

"This is only a theory, I can't tell for sure, but..." Malfoy huffed, running a hand through his hair. "I think he might be an obscurial." Harry wasn't sure if the dead silence that followed was real or just in his imagination. It was a bit hard to tell when his thoughts just _stopped_.

"Malfoy- That- No. That's impossible. Obscurials haven't been seen in hundreds of years, and he seems like a normal little boy besides his magic acting up a bit."

"You saw his magic just now. Potter, his magic feels _dark._ As dark as You-Know-Who. If not more so."

"Malfoy, if he's an obscurial..." That kid would have a target on his head quicker than the news could get around. Michael would be in danger until something could be done. "What can we do?"

"I don't know. I don't know enough about them. And I don't know for sure." Malfoy shook his head. "For now, we help him with his memories."

"No one's ever broken a complete Obliviation like this. It's unheard of. At most they get patchwork memories back."

"Is it complete? Has he remembered _anything?_ " Malfoy looked to him imploring. "Any details?"

"He... He was calling out for his parents last night, after a bad nightmare. I think he remembered he use to take baths before bed, too, but nothing much. It's just... Small things."

"We can at least work with that. That means it's not a complete Obliviation." Malfoy nodded. "I can work with that." Without another word he reentered the room. "And I'll get to work on that case as soon as possible, Potter."

"Honestly." Malfoy just never changed, did he? Shaking his head, Harry went back to Michael and gave a smile. "Michael, I need to meet someone else while we're here. He's one of my friends from last night that helped us get away. Would you rather stay here with Malfoy?" Michael looked over at Malfoy for a moment before giving a nod. With that, he held his arms out to Malfoy expectantly. "Alright, I'll be back in a little while." Harry grinned at Malfoy, ruffling Michael's hair. "Take good care of him, Malfoy."

"I will." With a sigh, Malfoy rose and picked Michael up. It was cute enough that Harry really wished he had a camera. Grinning instead, he left the office and took off toward the Auror department. No doubt Ron was working himself up into a fit over last night.

"-fucking insane is what it is! A missing kid and no one can find any parents? No one's put out a report?!" Correction. Ron was _livid_ over last night. Alright, Harry, deep breath and go calm your best friend. Maybe find Hermione first and oh no Ron had seen him. "Harry! Mate, where's the kid? Tell me he's safe. Any leads? What's he told you?"

"First, you need to take a deep breath and calm down a little. Any more red and people are gonna think there's more than one Weasley in here." Harry pulled Ron into a quick, one-armed hug, giving him a weak smile. "The kid is safe with Malfoy downstairs right now. We've been calling him Michael but he won't talk. He physically can, but he's too scared to talk in front of us or to us."

"Oh. Oh, well that's not-"

"It gets worse."

"Bloody hell, Harry, how's it gonna get worse?"

"The kid's been Oblivated. He can't remember anything beyond vague little flashes of what everyone might know, like the fact he has parents and he likes to take baths before bed. That's it."

Ron was silent for a moment, his face turning red before he was turning around and snapping out orders. "Bailey, I want you tracking every news source for missing children. Graves, I want you going to every witch and wizard possible, asking if they know anything. Lexing, just... Just sit there. Harry, you keep a close eye on that kid."

There were various cries of 'yes, sir', Harry giving a smile and patting Ron on the back, "For not wanting this job, you're doing a hell of a good job, mate. And don't worry, Malfoy's keeping close tabs on the kid's magic for now." Best not let Ron know about Malfoy's 'theory'.

"Yeah, well, go keep an eye on the little ferret. I still don't trust him, much." Withholding any laughter, Harry nodded and stopped by his own desk to grab a few files, pausing before raising his voice.

"Hey, Ron! Who's in charge of interrogating those New Risers we caught last night?"

"Dawlish is down there working on it right now!" Oh. No need to worry, then, if Dawlish was dealing with them. Gathering his folders and notes, Harry nodded and passed back by Ron.

"I'll update the Greens and Richards cases tonight and try to look more into that Delphi case that's been cropping up lately. Some teenage girl going around causing trouble in Knockturn Alley, right?"

"Yeah, I think she's one of those New Risers, but not like Malfoy. From what I hear, she's going around saying she's Voldemort's daughter, and that she was going to bring him back." Ron whirled his finger near the side of his head. "That one is one we can pass off to Lexing."

"With pleasure," Harry laughed, shaking his head. "Hey, the crazy reminds me of Bellatrix. Maybe there's a relation there." Grinning, Harry dropped the file off on Lexing's desk and gave a backwards wave. "I'll file a report on Michael as soon as I can. Fire call me or send a message if you find out anymore on the Hammish case!"

"Get back to me with _any_ updates on the kid," Ron said with a look before nodding and turning back to everyone else. "Bloody hell, you're all moving slower than flobberworms! Let's go, people!"

Shaking his head, Harry laughed to himself as he headed back down towards the Cursebreaker offices, giving a few waves to the people he knew and smiling brightly at any glares he received as he knocked on Malfoy's door, "I let Ron know about everything and I also picked up that case you wanted to go over from a few weeks ago. Tulips, right?"

" _Cursed_ tulips," Malfoy corrected, opening the door. Michael was still in his arms, though with the way he was covering his mouth, it looked like he was holding in laughter. "We were just talking about you."

"Were you?" Harry put on his best McGonagall look, staring at Malfoy and resisting any and all urges to laugh himself. "And what about me were you talking about, exactly?"

"How easily you make an idiot of yourself." Malfoy smirked and set Michael down on the stool. "I was just about to show Michael my new project."

" _New_ project," Harry snorted, setting a folder down on Malfoy's desk. "Don't you have enough started already- And who curses tulips, anyways?"

"You'd be surprised. Read it to me while I work." Malfoy was putting on a pair of protective gloves and opening up a drawer, taking out...a ring. It looked like a wedding band.

"Let me guess, it turns the other into a fish," Harry snorted, slowly taking his wand out and Transfiguring a few pens into crayons and getting some parchment set up in front of Michael.

"No, no, nothing so complicated. The ring merely shrinks further and further around the finger of the wearer. I hear that the victim was unfaithful, so really, a fitting punishment."

"I mean, 's not like you need that finger if you're gonna be unfaithful." Pulling up a chair between Michael and Malfoy, Harry sat down and braced a folder against his knee before flipping it open.

"Exactly my thoughts. Should have kept it on." Beside him, Michael was drawing... Well. He was seven or eight. It was hard to tell what he was drawing. But it _looked_ like himself underneath a rainbow. Doing nothing to hide his smile, Harry looked back down.

"Right. Cursed tulips arrived at the doorstep to a Ms. Jessica Waters three days ago around noon. After bringing them in and putting them in a vase she became dizzy, weak, and fell to the floor. A friend visiting that day found her two hours later and St. Mungo's was contacted. She seems to be mentally de-aging. She's hovering around the age of sixteen or so and seems to think she's been in a nasty Quidditch accident at the moment."

"Interesting. Where are the tulips now?" Malfoy was gently prodding the ring with his wand, head tilted. "Come on, then... Come on out..." It was ridiculous how the cursebreakers went about their methods, but at least they got results.

"In Auror custody. I can get them whenever you need them. Interestingly enough, they don't seem to be wilting, and instead look to be even healthier than we got them. Some kind of curse to drain life, maybe? Make the attacked act as childish as they probably _were_ acting?"

"Certainly sounds like a life-draining curse. Any note to come with? Anything to connect them to a sender?" Harry looked back at Michael's drawing and now Michael had drawn two people on either side of himself, both holding his hands. However, the people didn't have any details to them. They were just...people. God, this poor kid...

"N- No- Oh, um, yes, sorry." Shaking his head, Harry shifted through the papers, giving a sigh. The best they could help Michael right now was to just keep him calm and safe. "There was a note with the flowers that said 'you deserve all this and more'. We've had some people inspect it for magic traces, but you can look at it yourself. I don't trust the others to do a good job."

"Check the handwriting against any and all records you may have. It'll require multiple hands, yes, but that'll be one of the quickest ways to narrow it down."

"A rather muggle method." Harry wrote down the note anyway. He'd have to drop it off by Daniels today, since he was in charge of the holding area. "We can try and search her place, see if there's any notes left behind of jaded friends or old lovers."

"Ask any and all friends and family. See if she's recently made an enemy of anyone."

"Got it. Want me to drop the tulips off before I leave today or just leave a note with Daniels so you can get them tomorrow?"

"Leave a note. I am far too busy today to be trying to deal with any of that." Harry glanced again and it seemed that Michael was filling in the details. Hope rising in his chest, it quickly fell when he realized that Michael was drawing...himself. And Malfoy. Not his parents. Looking up, he was shocked to see a ball of...dark blue magic floating in front of Malfoy, tendrils still attached to the ring. "You're a stubborn one, aren't you?"

"Malfoy, what exactly is it that you're doing and should I be throwing up shield charms?" Because that looked... That looked wrong and it felt _dark_. At this point, Harry liked to think he knew what dark magic felt like, too.

"Shh. I'm breaking the curse. Alright, come on, then. Almost there..." Malfoy drew his wand a little further away from the ring, eyes narrowed in determination. Staying quiet, Harry set aside his files a bit hastily and moved to gently pick Michael up - as well as the drawing and the crayon he was currently using - and sit with him a bit further back, throwing up a shield charm with a flick of his fingers. The last tendril of the curse broke from the ring and Malfoy beamed. "There we are. _Finite._ " And just like that, it was dissipating, as though it hadn't been there at all.

"You cursebreakers are utterly barmy," Harry breathed, letting his grip on Michael relax. "A warning would have been nice before you started playing with dark magic, you know."

Malfoy took off his gloves and huffed. "I was not playing with dark magic, I was doing my job, don't act so surprised. Besides, that was one of the more tame ones."

"I'd hate to see what isn't tame," Harry muttered, looking down to Michael. "You agree with me, right? That he's utterly barmy?" Michael looked up at Harry and shrugged. "Honestly, I'd side with him over me, too. Alright, I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry. Want some lunch?" With a smile, Michael nodded and wrapped an arm around Harry's. He waved over to Malfoy.

"Sure, Potter. I could eat." Merlin help him or he was going to break in a way that would be embarrassing for everyone.

"Good, you can pay, too, since _someone_ dragged us out of the house before we even had breakfast."

"...Fine. Come on, then. I know a place."


	3. Chapter 3

"You know, I don't really see why _you're_ following me back home," Harry grumbled, gently guiding Michael along by the hand. Poor thing looked ready to drop and probably needed a good long nap.

"I am checking on him. Honestly, Potter, you act as though I'm not allowed to show concern for a child." Great. Malfoy was great with kids, a bloody amazing wizard, and was only getting more and more easy to get along with by the day. Whatever god looked over these matters hated him.

"Mhm. Fine, but nap time can get pretty hectic, you know."

"Oh, yes, peace and quiet. I see what you mean." Malfoy rolled his eyes at Harry, his hands in his pockets. His _hands_ in his probably-ironed _pockets._ Was it wrong for Harry to stare, really?

"Ri- Right. Right. Okay, um, right." Focus, Harry. "Come on, Michael, let's get you settled down. Does a nap sound good?" Michael gave a frown and quickly shook his head. "You sure? You're not _one_ bit tired?" Michael shook his head again, pouting and crossing his arms. "Oh? That's perfect, then!" Grinning, Harry looked down at the boy. "That means you can help me with something. See, I have this book I got recently, but I wanted some opinions on it. Want to listen as I read it outloud?" Michael thought this over before nodding. At least he found that to be acceptable. "Perfect!"

Harry's expression was probably pretty obviously triumphant, but he figured it could be looked over since this was a victory he probably wouldn't get again. Malfoy snickered to himself, looking far too amused. "And what book will you be reading, Potter?

"Oh, um..." Good question. What book did he have that would be interesting enough for Michael to pay attention, but boring enough that the boy would fall asleep- Oh. "The Tales of Beedle the Bard. I wanted to go over it for notes that Hermione wanted. She's doing that whole thing where she's documenting the war, and all that."

That really did have Malfoy laugh, the blond covering his mouth as he did so. "Oh, yes. How appropriate." Instead of responding, Harry could only stare for a moment, trying to resist groaning. He really was doomed.

"I'd like to see you do better," Harry rolled his eyes, helping Michael up the stairs. "There we go. Want to sit on the couch?" Michael smiled and held his arms out to Harry. Scooping the boy into his arms, Harry adjusted Michael so he was comfortable before digging around for the book, finding it after a moment. "Here we go. You know, you might recognize these stories. I heard they're pretty commonly told to wizard children."

"They are," Draco said with a nod. "I was told these stories every night, when I was your age." Settling down on the couch, Harry shifted until they were both comfortable, patting the seat beside him after a moment.

"Well? C'mon, perfectionist, you can help me tell them."

"...Fine, fine. You've coerced me."

"Great." Waiting until Draco sat down, Harry opened the book and scanned the pages until he found the one that _he_ knew. "Right. How about The Tale of the Three Brothers?"

"I will admit that always was one of my favorites." In his lap, Michael looked curious and gave a nod.

"Right. Don't laugh too badly at me now, okay? I'm pretty bad when it comes to telling stories." Taking a breath, Harry looked down at the pages before beginning to read the story that had near haunted them in those last few weeks of the war. It was so easy, too, to hear Hermione's voice as he spoke, as if they were back in the Lovegood's place and Death Eaters were about to appear any minute...

"No- No, you're not doing it right," Draco huffed beside him. Snapping out of his thoughts, Harry blinked up at Draco before giving him an incredulous look.

"Please explain to me how I'm not telling a story right."

"Really, Potter, this is a story of Death itself. Don't you think perhaps your tone should reflect that?"

"You want me to give the characters voices, then?" What had his life become, honestly. "Really?"

"Well of course not," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "None of the characters speak, in this one."

"Oh, of course." Harry couldn't stop the laughter bubbling out of him, his head shaking again. "Would you like to try and give this story 'the proper tone', then?"

"Oh, Salazar, no. I couldn't-"

"Oh, no, no, I insist. Michael, don't you think he would do a better job than I would?" Michael beamed and nodded, looking to Draco expectantly.

"Oh, alright, alright," Draco said with a sigh. "There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight-"

"What the he- You're not even looking at the book." How the _hell_? But, no, he was right word for word. "Seriously. _How_."

Draco's cheeks went a bit pink. "Every wizard has it memorized back and forth, Potter."

"Uh huh. I somehow doubt that. Well, go on, then, keep going." Harry wanted to see how well he _actually_ knew the story.

"A- _hem._ " Draco cleared his throat. "Travelling a lonely, winding road at twilight. In time, they came to a river too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across."

It was uncertain how long it took to tell the story, the words fading past as Harry listened more to Draco's voice and how much he was getting into the story, how eager the words sometimes tumbled out before they slowed down when a dramatic scene approached. When Draco told it, that day at the Lovegoods faded away and all Harry could see was the story taking place in front of his eyes, Draco directing the characters as easily and effortlessly as he did his magic. When he finally noticed the words had stopped, he glanced down to see Michael asleep in his lap, curled up against him peacefully. "See? Knew it would work."

"And you said it would be _hectic,_ " Draco scoffed, shaking his head. "Easy as anything." Looking back down to Michael, Harry flicked his fingers and summoned a blanket from somewhere in the house, wrapping it over Michael and adjusting the boy until he was a bit more comfortable.

"Yeah, wait until he wakes up and then we'll see who's laughing."

"Who says I won't leave before that?" Draco smirked and already began to rise from the couch and walk to the fireplace.

"Because he likes you more than me and I'm sure he'd appreciate waking up to a familiar face considering everything he's gone through lately."

"You are a familiar face, Potter." Draco was giving him a strange look.

"Didn't much help last night." He hadn't been able to do _anything_ when Michael woke up screaming from that nightmare. He wanted to help, but how much use was he really with things like this? "Just... Stick around until he wakes up? Please?"

"...Fine. But just until then." Draco sighed and turned back around, slumping onto the couch. "Have they found anything?"

"Ron has them all on the case and Dawlish is interrogating the New Risers we found, but we don't have anything concrete right now. No parents, no missing news, no idea of where he came from... It's like he just came from nowhere."

"Or like someone erased the evidence." Draco looked down at Michael, running a hand through his hair. "Do you know how long they had him?"

"We're trying to find that out... It was more than a few days." Harry adjusted the blanket, shaking his head. "You don't- You don't act like that after just a few days of bad people. You don't refuse to talk because you're scared whatever you say will mean being hurt, or flinch away whenever someone moves. You don't fear magic like that without reason."

"The first two can be attributed to the abduction, but that latter..." Draco sighed softly. "I'm not sure I want to know the truth." An obscurial... Harry only vaguely knew about them and that was because of Auror training.

"I... I think I could have become one, when I was younger. An obscurial. The only reason I didn't was because I didn't know I was being punished for _magic_ , I just thought it was because they hated me."

Draco shook his head slowly. "That's... not how it works. If a child is forced to suppress their magic at all, an obscurus is created." He looked Harry over. "Though I am glad you weren't an obscurial."

"Certainly would have surprised the Wizarding World, though, huh?" Harry gave a weak grin, tucking Michael close again. "I just want to help him. I know what it's like to be scared like he is now."

"You're helping him as best you can right now. And everyone is working on this case."

"I know, I know, but... Still." Draco remained silent for a few moments before he rose and headed to the kitchen. "What are you doing?" No words answered, only the clattering of something in the kitchen. "You had better not break anything or you'll explain it to Kreacher yourself!"

"Fine, fine." Minutes passed until Harry heard a shrill whistling. A few moments later, cups of tea were floating out and onto the coffee table. Harry raised an eyebrow, staring for a moment before biting his lip.

"You really would get along with Molly, you know." Making tea when someone was upset... Maybe it was a pureblood thing?

"It was always something Mother would do for me when something was weighing heavily on my mind."

"Make tea?" Harry couldn't really argue with the results, but it was still a bit amusing.

"A hot drink seems to diffuse most situations." Without his wand, Draco pointed at the third cup and simply 'swished' his finger, and Harry watched as steam continued to curl up from the cup. He set a small tray down on the table and began to put sugar cube after sugar cube into his own cup.

"I see you like a little tea with your sugar," Harry grinned, trying not to laugh as he shifted Michael a little so he could reach for his own cup.

"Oh, you hush. I don't want to hear a word from you." Draco gave him a teasing smile behind his cup.

"I'm just pointing out what I see, as all good Aurors are supposed to do." Harry made sure his cup was loaded down with milk before he was taking a sip, relaxing at the taste and settling back to play with Michael's hair.

"So then. How long does naptime normally last?"

"It depends on the child, I think. Considering how little sleep he had last night it would probably do to give him a good hour of sleep." It would be good for his mental sanity, too.

And he did sleep for an hour. At one point, Draco had gotten himself a book and settled in on the other end of the couch while Harry was content to continue to play with Michael's hair, soothing him the few times he began to stir. Finally, Michael woke up and stretched and yawned, looking down at the blanket with a frown. Trying not to laugh at the expression, Harry tugged Michael up a little, ruffling his hair, "You fell asleep while helping us take notes. Would you like something to eat?"

Michael near flung himself off the couch and nodded with a beaming smile, running into the kitchen. Staring for a moment, Harry felt his stomach drop as he quickly moved to follow after. How did he forget about the _after effects_ of nap time? This kid was going to be bouncing off the walls. "Potter? What on earth-" Draco was already following after him, but it looked like it was too late. Michael was looking at anything and everything he could, and the drawing he drew was now sticking to the fridge, Merlin knew how.

"Nap time. It's always after nap time ends that it starts." Groaning, Harry tried to limit the devastation as best he could, getting out what he needed to make of the sandwiches Michael had liked last night. "Thank you for putting that drawing up, by the way, Michael. It's really good." Horribly sad, but good. Michael's smile somehow got even brighter as he looked to Harry before looking at Draco for approval.

Draco walked over to the fridge dramatically - as he did everything - and knelt down. "Hm... I like it. You thoroughly represented Potter's big-headedness. And what's that supposed to be?" Harry rolled his eyes, shaking his head. Honestly, prat couldn't even tell that it was the sun- "Well, it's large, and golden. Must be Potter's ego."

"Malfoy, it's the sun. I know it's probably not something you see very often, always hiding in the dungeons and making new potions and playing with magic, but it's something that quite a few people recognize on sight."

"Apologies, I try not to acquaint myself with the sun. We don't get along. I _burn_ in the sun." Below them there was a quiet giggle and when Harry looked, Michael was covering his mouth.

"Didn't know you were a vampire, but looking back, it sort of makes sense. Dour mood, pale skin, perfect hair, shining eyes. Yeah, I really should have seen the fact you're a vampire sooner."

"Oh, please," Draco said with a roll of his eyes. "You know that's exactly not what I mean- You think my hair is perfect?"

"What- Oh, um." Backtrack, backtrack, backtrack. "Hey, Michael, how does grilled cheese sound for lunch? I think I have some sweets leftover from when I visited a friend, too, if you want any of those after lunch." When Harry glanced back to Draco, the man wasn't paying any attention, only grinning and brushing his hair back. Michael was nodding almost frantically, climbing up onto the chair all by himself and letting his foot slap against one of the legs of the chair a few times. "Nap time. Always nap time. Alright, let's get some food in you- Do you want juice?" Michael nodded again and didn't stop until Draco rested a gentle hand on his head.

"Any more of that and I think it'll pop right off," he chuckled. Michael went still for a moment, looking startled and wary before settling down as Draco only kept smiling at him.

"Maybe not say that to the child who's still new to the world of magic," Harry suggested, setting down a glass of juice in front of Michael. "Alright, why don't you try the apple juice. If you don't like it, I'll try and see what else we have, okay?"

"I think we should introduce him to Nearly Headless Nick. The two would have a lot in common, I'm sure." Michael frowned up at Draco as though he couldn't tell if he were joking or not before he took a sip of the juice. He thought over the taste for a moment before finally nodding. Acceptable.

"He'll meet him when he's eleven," Harry waved off, firing up the oven and nodding as he paused. "What day is it?"

"What...day- Potter, what do you mean what _day_ is-"

"Harry! Where are you, pup!" Oh, no. _Sirius_.

Draco rose an eyebrow. " _Pup?_ "

"Oh, god." Harry groaned, rubbing at his eyes as he kept making the food anyways - he had a child to feed, after all. "Okay, um, Michael, that man you just heard? He's my-" Panic. Panic, how did one explain Sirius. "Dad. He's my dad. He's Sirius. He visits me every three days or so to check in on how I'm doing. He can get a bit excited, but you don't need to worry about someone as silly as him, okay?"

Michael was giving the doorway a distrusting look as he moved to hide behind Draco's legs. Draco rolled his eyes. "I can't _wait_ to see this one play out."

"Yeah... Yeah, neither can I." Deep breath. "We're in the kitchen!" We're. Company. Please behave.

Sirius was coming into the kitchen immediately. "Harry! It's so good to see you, little puppy!" Sirius walked over and hugged him, ruffling his hair.

"Why do you hate me?" He was twenty-four, an accomplished auror, had defeated the Dark Lord, and here he was with Sirius calling him 'little puppy' in front of the child he was looking after and the man he had been crushing on for years. "Is this revenge because you can't visit Remus? It is, isn't it?" Just don't look at Draco.

"Don't know what you mean, pup. Oh! Well look at that! You have company! Who could have guessed!" This was revenge. This was revenge for something and Harry was going to- Ugh!

"I'm telling Remus next time I write to him," Harry muttered quietly, looking to Michael. "This is Michael. He's staying with me until we can find his parents. We found him on a raid a few days ago." Harry shot Sirius a significant look because Merlin and God help him if he scared this child. Michael shrank back further behind Draco as Sirius knelt down and gave him a warm smile.

"Well hello there, Michael." The boy didn't waver, holding onto Draco's pants tightly. "Oh, come on, now. Don't be so _serious._ " Harry could only groan loudly, trying not to look at any of them as he focused on making the grilled cheese. This was horrible. This was the worst day of his life - and that included fighting Voldemort. Looking back down, Michael was peeking out and released one hand to hold it out to Sirius. Sirius smiled, and shook his head. "Nice to meet you, Michael." Michael gave a shy little nod before hiding back behind Draco, Harry hoping the cooing noise he let slip wasn't noticed. Judging by the smile that Draco gave him, it had been. "So, Harry," Sirius said as he stood. "What's for lunch?"

"Grilled cheese and apple juice." Keeping a straight face and eye contact, Harry flipped the one he was working on and tried not to grin as he did so perfectly. "Grab the plates." Sirius laughed, shaking his head.

"Alright, alright. You know, Remus says you take after me, I have no idea what he means."

"What? He said that?" Harry frowned, shaking his head. "Now I have to talk with him about insulting me behind my back." Sirius scoffed and Harry heard a snort of laughter from behind him. When he turned around, Draco and Michael were looking rather innocent, the latter now in the former's arms. "What? It is. Now grab some seats."

Draco glanced down to Michael and gave a rueful smile. "I really should be getting back to the office."

"Draco." Harry fixed Draco with his best Molly Weasley look. "I know for a fact you've been skipping lunch in order to work in your office more. So either sit down and eat these sandwiches, or I'm going straight to Andromeda for a visit who _will_ tell your mother."

Draco stared at him with wide eyes before shaking his head. "I've already been gone for too long, I'll pick up something on my way-" Honestly, he wasn't even _trying_ at this point.

"I can get you free access to holding rooms for the next week. No questions asked."

"Deal."

::

"I think nap time is finally wearing off," Harry mused, watching Michael droop more and more as he tried to read the book he had been given. "Is it wrong I find this so cute?"

"I can't believe you made me skip work."

"Hey, I only made you stay for lunch. Everything else was voluntarily done." These cases weren't making sense... They seemed basic thefts, but what was taken was such strange Dark items. Hm.

"You pouted everytime I so much as glanced at the fireplace." Draco was looking through his own work. "Hm... Interesting..." Oh, God, he was _that_ kind of reader.

"It wasn't pouting. It was concern for Michael." Glancing up to check on him, Harry raised an eyebrow at seeing a large black dog laying down in front of the child, tail wagging. "Really?" Draco looked down and frowned.

"Since when do you own a dog?" Michael was smiling pleasantly and petting Sirius, drooping forward and laying his head on Sirius' stomach. The man's methods were effective, if nothing else. Harry had no doubt he had done the same for him when he was a newborn.

"Since the end of third year or so," Harry waved off, trying to focus on his files and mostly smiling at the scene. It _was_ cute. He glanced to Draco just in time to see him glance away, his cheeks seeming to light up. "Sirius is an animagus. He likes to 'abuse his power for frivolous reasons'. Remus always laughs when he says that, though."

"Is that so." Draco stared down at a particular file.

"Mhm. He registered with the Ministry after everything settled down after the war. I think Skeeter did an article on it and had to paraphrase a lot considering how much he swore."

"That's so that they couldn't use much material." Sirius was once again human, and smiling. "Looks like your little pup is asleep."

"Why must you call everyone 'pup'," Harry sighed, not able to really be angry as he stood up and moved to gently lift Michael into his arms. "I'll go lay him down now that he's finally wore himself out."

Draco rose from his seat. "Now I really should be going."

"Alright- Oh, wait just one moment. I need to add something to that tulips file I found-" Harry shifted Michael, heading towards the stairs. "Be right back!"

"Oh- I, ah..." Whatever he may have said, Harry didn't hear as he carried Michael up to the guest room and set him down on the bed... That wouldn't do. Taking off the boy's socks, he set them at the side of the bed and picked up the blanket, tucking Michael in before ruffling his hair. Hopefully there wouldn't be any nightmares tonight, but Harry made sure to set a few monitoring spells just in case.

"Okay, just give me one quick second to write it up and put it- What happened?"

"Nothing," Draco snapped. "Hurry it up."

"Oh- Right." Touchy. Had Sirius said something before he left? Jotting the note down and sticking it in the file, Harry handed them over with a smile. "Let me know if you need anything else for your cases." Draco took the files and turned to the fireplace, Flooing out without a word. "I'm going to kill him tomorrow." Sirius was dead. First, though, he had a letter to write to Remus. Honestly. _Little puppy_.


	4. Chapter 4

"Harry, mate! We got a lead!"

"On Michael?" Passing Michael a few more crayons, Harry quickly went over towards Ron. "What'd you find?"

"Muggle news article. Couple found dead in their own home. No signs of anything external, unlikely it was a double heart attack, and get this. It says that police have hinted there may be a kid."

"Hinted?" Muggle... "Is he a muggleborn, then?" Or were the parents wizards who were trying to hide from someone? There wasn't enough information.

"We don't know enough, but it's a lead. I've got Johnson working on that one right now."

"Can you get me a picture of the couple? It might trigger some of Michael's memories if they really are his parents." Dead parents... That didn't help anyone right now.

"No pictures released, yet, but we're working on it as fast as we can- Oh yeah! The Cursebreakers sent up that ring from the Philips case!"

"Yeah, Draco got rid of the magic on it yesterday." Dead. Dead parents. If they really were related to Michael then where would the boy go after they got his memories back? The Wizarding World didn't exactly have foster care systems.

"Oh, so it's _Draco,_ now?"

"What?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "You were talking to him yesterday, weren't you?"

"I talk to him almost everyday, Ron. I'm the only one crazy enough to put up with him, remember?" Harry raised an eyebrow, looking unamused at Ron's amusement. "What are you on about now?"

"I don't mean talking like you talk to Lexing. I mean _talking._ " Oh, Harry did not like what was being implied there.

"Ron. He hates me and thinks I'm the Golden Boy Chosen One who can do no wrong in society's eyes. Not much 'talking' goes on between us besides insults."

Ron gave a vague shrug, turning back to his desk. "That's not what I hear."

"Really?" Harry frowned, moving to try and see his face again. "And what do you hear?"

"Bit of this. Bit of that. You know." Ron looked over at Harry. "Hermione was calling around. Saying she wanted to know more about the case you were working on. Hoped you would drop by."

"Oh." Hermione who was pregnant right now and very easily angered. "Um..." How to get out of this, how to get out of this, how to get out of this... "I can't. I, um, have to...give Michael a...bath." Michael, who apparently had been listening, looked up at Harry and frowned, shaking his head. "What? Yes. I do. Remember?" Please, kid, c'mon, help him out. Michael crossed his arms and pouted further. "Fine. Want to visit another old friend of mine today, then?" That had Michael looking a bit apprehensive, his arms crossing tighter before he gave a small nod.

Smiling a bit sadly, Harry gently picked the boy up, settling him on his hip. "It's okay. You don't have to do much besides wave a bit. We can even take your coloring supplies so you can keep working on those great drawings of yours." Michael sucked on his bottom lip before nodding. "Great! If we leave early, I'll even show you some of my drawings."

Ron whistled, shaking his head. "Kid's got you wrapped around his finger." Rolling his eyes, Harry snatched a folder off Ron's desk before walking away.

"I'll see you two tonight- And I'm not eating anything she cooks!" The cravings Hermione went through were /horrifying/. Michael frowned up at Harry, patting his arm. "Hm? What's wrong, Michael?" Michael opened his mouth before closing it and frowning further. "If it's about meeting new people you don't have to worry. We'll only be there until dinner and then we'll go back to my place. Or... You could stay with Draco, if you want?" That had Michael quickly nodding. At least Harry was able to find an option everyone would be...okay with.

Hopefully.

::

"Hey, Draco, I have the last piece you needed for that case, Ron and them got the ring and think you did great, and I need you to watch Michael for the night."

"And what makes you think I'll agree," Draco said, not even turning away from his work.

"Because otherwise Michael has to suffer dealing with a pregnant Hermione?"

Draco glanced over. "Well. I wouldn't wish that on- Well. On you." Giving him a rather dry stare, Harry set Michael down on one of the seats before sitting on Draco's desk.

"It's only for one night and I'll come over and pick him up first thing in the morning. Please? I don't want to make him uncomfortable when this is all still so new to him." And when Harry might have to tell him that his parents were dead.

Draco looked over at Michael and gave the boy a smile. "Fine. Since you've given me no other option."

"Thank you," Harry sighed, taking his wand out and giving it a sharp flick, catching the sketchbook he had summoned. It was always more difficult to summon things when it was a bit further away than what an Accio could reach, he had found. Walking back to Michael, he gave a smile. "Since you're not putting up a fuss about this, here's _my_ drawings that you can look at. I think you might end up liking a few." Michael smiled and took the sketchbook, leafing through it carefully.

"What time, tomorrow?"

"What time would work best for you?"

"Anytime after six will work."

"In- In the morning?" No one sane was awake that early- _Birds_ sometimes weren't awake that early!

Draco rose an unamused eyebrow. "No. At night."

"God, I hate you sometimes," Harry groaned, already terrified at the thought. "Right- Okay. That works. That's fine." Sighing, Harry turned back to Michael, absently kissing the top of his head. "Alright, be good for Draco and try not to cause him _too_ much trouble."

"I think we'll be just fine," Draco said with a roll of his eyes. Michael, however, was looking between the two with wide eyes.

"You say that now," Harry laughed, ruffling Michael's hair and smiling at Draco. "See you two tomorrow, then." Now he just had to figure out how to get out of Hermione's 'talks' when it came to setting him up with Draco.

::

"Mione."

Hermione's head darted up from where it had been shoved into her work and she smiled widely, standing to greet him. "Harry." Harry didn't even try to escape the hug he was pulled into, only laughing and hugging the woman back just as tightly.

"Sorry it's been a while. Work got a bit crazy the last few days."

"That's what I've heard. Come on, sit, sit," Hermione said hurriedly, beaming at him. "Tell me about it."

"I'm sure Ron has already told you all the good parts," Harry chuckled, letting himself be pushed down onto the nearest couch. "We were on a raid a few days ago when we found Michael- At least, that's what we've been calling him. He was Oblivated." Her jaw dropped.

"Oh, Harry, no..."

"I know! Ron found something on the muggle news about this couple who supposedly died from double heart attacks, but if that really was his parents then he's all alone- Not to mention we found him in a dungeon with _New Risers_ guarding him. He was terrified of magic when I first got to him and there's something off about his own."

"Oh my-" Hermione shook her head. "Is there _anything_ that's confirmed?"

"Not yet." Harry slumped against the couch, rubbing at his eyes. "Draco, at least, has been helping out. Michael seems to have really taken a shine to him."

"Well, that's someone, at least. Draco, the poor dear... We should invite him over for dinner!" Staring for a moment, Harry slowly shook his head and how did Hermione not _realize_ how bad an idea that was? "Don't you think it would be nice, Harry? Probably better than eating alone."

"You're being very vicious at the moment, 'Mione. Did I forget a birthday, or something?"

"What? What did- Oh! Harry, I'm so sorry- I wasn't even thinking!"

"No, no, it's okay. I mean, you'd have a point." The only time he really got out was to visit Ron and Hermione, after all.

"Well, still. Would you invite him for me, Harry?" Hermione was giving him _that_ look. "Please?"

"I- S-Sure." Forgive him, Draco. "Anything for you, 'Mione."

"Oh, thank you, Harry!" Hermione had been spending far too much time around Molly Weasley. They all had, really, so Harry supposed it wasn't too much of a problem.

"Yeah... Do you have any advice on what I should do about Michael? I want him to feel safe when he's with me but I don't know if I'm doing a great job of that."

"Harry, it sounds like you're doing your absolute best. That's all that we can ask. Now, would you mind picking up lunch? I'm feeling like Japanese peanut butter and jelly."

"What... What is that, exactly?" Poor Ron- Well, no. Ron could just about eat anything, so he was probably doing okay with all this.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "We should get Japanese take out, and you should make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."

"Alright. Sure. We can do that." She was going to eat them both at the same time, wasn't she? "I'll just go get that, then. Oh, I found that case file on my desk that you wanted to look at today. Don't know why you want it, though."

"Hm? Oh, just in case... Go on, Harry." Dealing with Hermione scared him and Harry was just going to go and warn Ron. Maybe he could avoid making her _too_ angry today.

::

Staring blearily at the door in front of him, Harry more collapsed against it rather than knocked. It was too early for this. Why six? Why did Draco have to wake up at such an ungodly time? Michael probably wasn't even awake. The door, of course, fell out from under him a moment later. "Ah. Potter. I wasn't expecting you at this time."

"'S after six." It was like two minute past, right? Whatever. If he suffered so did everyone else. "Any nightmares?"

"No, he was a perfect angel. I'll go get him. I put him down early last night so he could get up early. I've been doing some research and it's important they have a steady sleep schedule."

"I hate you." For fuck's sake he was even good with kids. More than Harry had thought! He was worse than doomed. Hopefully, he was fucked.

"Not an original, nor unexpected sentiment. Please, come in."

"'S early." Harry shuffled in, forcing his eyes open as he took in the modest flat Draco lived in. It... It was much better than Malfoy Manor, that was for sure. "He'll probably fall back asleep as soon as you wake him."

"We'll see. I set him down at eight last night." Draco went to retrieve Michael. He expected to hear a loud voice of 'up and at 'em' or something similar, but he actually...couldn't hear anything. Narrowing his eyes, Harry glanced around before casting a silent spell to hear what Draco might be saying. "Michael. It's time to wake up. Harry's here to pick you up."

"...Daddy?"

"No. Harry. Do you remember?" Aw... Aw. Harry crept a little closer, trying to peek his head around the corner of the door. He was far too weak to this kid already, and it really was nice to hear him talk more. Draco was sitting on the end of the bed, turned away from the door. "Harry? The one who helped you escape? He's the one you've been staying with?"

Michael nodded and rubbed his eyes. "I remember." Huh. Maybe Michael should start staying with Draco until they found a new home for him. Merlin knew Draco was already doing a better job than Harry was.

Draco nodded as though the boy speaking were the most normal thing in the world. "Alright. I've laid some clothes out for you. Do you remember where the bathroom is?"

"Yes." As the two moved to stand, Harry quickly went back to the main room, ending his spell and yawning as Draco walked in.

"Did he fall back asleep, then?"

"No, he didn't." Draco glanced to Harry and Harry just barely caught a smile as the blond moved to the kitchenette to make some tea. "I think he's excited to spend the day with you. He was pouring over that book you sent him with."

"Really?" Hm, he didn't think he would have liked the sketches that much. "You're pretty good with him, you know."

"Funny, I was thinking the same about you." Draco rose an eyebrow to him. "Really, Potter. Are you seeing me as a _parent?_ "

"Horrifying thought, that." If horrifying meant wonderful. "I just thought you might like to watch him a bit more until everything's dealt with. Like I said. You're good with him."

Draco glanced towards the bedroom door. "Like I said, you have more of a desk job. I think that would be a bit better for him. You've seen my work, after all."

"My desk job isn't always a desk job," Harry pointed out, crossing his arms and tapping his foot. "I don't mean take him all the time, I mean, but maybe just help when you can? Being around people he likes is going to help him."

"He doesn't like your Weasel, then?"

"Does anyone?"

"You've got a point," Draco said with a simple nod.

"I'll take that as a yes before you talk your way out of it like you do everything else, then."

"I do not talk my way out of _everything._ "

"Shall I ask for Pansy's opinion, then? As a reporter I'm sure she _never_ tells a lie." Okay, Harry couldn't even get that one out without laughing. The only one who rivaled Pansy in her writing was _Rita Skeeter_. Draco pouted at him.

"I don't appreciate my friends being made a fool of."

"It was more that I just couldn't tell a lie that big- Well, no, that is a bit rude of me. She never outright lies." She just went about a very Slytherin way of telling the news. "Just think about it?"

"...I'll think about it," Draco finally said, coming back with two cups of tea just as Michael padded in and sat beside Harry. Harry carefully ran a hand through Michael's hair, sorting out the wild bedhead.

"Hey, Michael. I hope you slept well. Did you enjoy the book I left with you?" Michael smiled and nodded, leaning against Harry and speaking softly.

"Yeah." Hm, he was still talking in front of Harry... Good. That was- That was good.

"I'm glad. You know, I have a couple others. Would you like to look through them today while I'm working?"Michael gave another nod. He glanced around before looking at them.

"Breakfast?"

"Good question. Draco, you want to make it or am I allowed to take over your kitchen? I probably won't ruin it." Draco waved him off, though something stopped him. Namely Michael. Blinking, Harry stared at the child who was clinging to him before doing the only logical thing. Scooping Michael into his arms and kissing his cheek, Harry happily went towards the kitchen. "You can help me by tasting everything." Michael's eyes were wide for a minute before he beamed and wiggled, his arms wrapped tightly around Harry. Harry couldn't stop his laugh as he hugged Michael close, and, really. This kid was just absolutely adorable. "Wanna help by criticizing everything I do, Draco?"

"I don't see how that would help you," Draco huffed, standing and following them. Harry was too pleased to put up the front of snarking back at him, only grinning and flicking his wand to gather the things he would need.

"It helps." Even just having him nearby did.

It was about twenty minutes later the two were laughing together as Michael piggybacked off of Harry, watching him cook. Looking at Draco, Harry couldn't help but to smile. He was so in love with this man. It felt far too natural to lean in and brush a kiss against Draco's cheek, as Harry had done it every morning for the past few years. It took a moment to sink in that, oh, he had not done that before and Draco was probably about to hex him. Glancing over at him, Harry saw that Draco was instead staring off into space, fingertips brushing against his cheek lightly. "Oh."

Oh? Oh was a good sign, wasn't it? It seemed like a good sign. Harry was going to take it as a good sign. Chewing on his lip, Harry finished up the last bit of breakfast he was making, holding the plate out to Draco, "Set this on the table for me?"

"Oh. Um. Alright." Draco took the plate, near jumping when their fingers brushed before he set it down. Oh, that was a very good sign. Turning the stove off, Harry gathered their drinks and set them on the table. Kneeling down so Michael could slip off his back, Harry grabbed him by his hands and lifted him into the air before plopping him down on his seat. Draco was quick to sit on the opposite side of the table from Harry as Harry got out the plates and silverware. Not a good sign. Oh, this was going to drive him barmy, wasn't it?

"What time do you usually go into work, Draco?"

"Oh, ah, normally around ten. I stay there until anywhere from five to midnight."

"And I thought I was the workaholic." Harry set the plates out, ruffling Michael's hair as he made sure things were in easy reach of the child. "Eat as much as you want, okay? We can always make more if we need to." Michael gave him a nod and dug in. Harry glanced up at Draco for a reaction. Draco was staring down at Michael and looking to be in awe. "Draco? You alright?" That was an odd reaction.

"Yes," he said softly. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine." Oh, that would require more looking into. And maybe some testing to see if Draco felt the same...


	5. Chapter 5

"Alright. I found a picture of the couple before the death. Harry... It doesn't look like there's family relation."

"Really? Everything else matches up, though. They were found killed near the same area they were based in, right?" Harry had sent Michael ahead to his office when he saw Ron's grim face on his way in. Ron only held up a picture of a couple smiling brightly at the camera.

"They look nothing like him." Studying the picture himself, Harry frowned. Ron was right. It wasn't just the hair and eye color, it was _everything_.

"Friends of the family looking after him, maybe? Aunt, Uncle, someone?"

"If it were relatives, we'd see _something._ " Ron sighed and gave him the picture. "See if it jogs any memories, anyway."

"Alright, alright. Keep looking anyways, though." Harry took the picture and frowned a bit at seeing it wasn't moving. They had been muggles, then, for sure. Maybe Michael was a muggleborn? That still didn't explain why the New Risers had taken him, though. Heading back to his office, Harry sighed. Why did this seem like it got even more complicated? "Hey, Michael? I have something I want to show you." Harry knelt down in front of Michael and handed him the picture. "Do you think you might recognize these people?" Michael stared down at the picture, and Harry thought he saw the boy's eyes widen. So then- Michael looked back up at him and slowly shook his head. So then Harry was only seeing what he wanted to see. "Alright... Alright, hey, that's okay. We'll keep working to figure out where your family is, alright? I promise you'll be safe, though, no matter what."

Michael stared at him before lunging forward and wrapping himself tightly around Harry. Blinking in shock for a moment, Harry smiled a bit as he wrapped Michael up in a hug, sitting back down with him still held close. "You're gonna be okay. I know things are scary right now and that people have hurt you, but take it from someone who's been where you are. It gets better." Michael smiled up at Harry, snuggling closer to him. "Yeah, yeah, I'm sappy. You should know this by now." Harry hugged Michael close, smiling a bit more softly. "Wanna show me what you've been working on." Michael squirmed down and covered up his drawing, shaking his head. "Let me guess, it's not done yet?" Michael shook his head before looking through his crayon colors and picking one up. "Well, I can't wait to see it when it is done."

::

"It just doesn't make sense. Everything seemed to fit so perfectly yet he doesn't remember them at all. Even with the Obliviation spell on him he should have recognized them somehow, right?" Draco nodded in response to his questioning.

"Yes, I completely expected it to bring his memories back. To see that it didn't..." Giving a vague hum, Harry was mostly distracted by the fact Draco wasn't wearing his robes in his office. Instead he was dressed nicely in slacks and a button up, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. It...was distracting.

"Ye... Yeah. Um, yeah! So now we're back at square one with all of this."

"Indeed... Any signs of magic, then?" Draco was glancing to Michael, instead focusing on writing up a report.

"Not that we've found. They seem to just be a normal muggle couple, but the way they died and the area they were in explains everything way too perfectly."

"Nothing new from him either, then?" Draco smiled softly in Michael's direction.

"Not since you let him use your wand the other day," Harry said softly, rubbing at his eyes. "I don't know if that's normal, though. Aren't there supposed to be more magical signs at this age?"

"Sometimes. Were you giving off magic every day of your life, at his age?"

"Not every day. My magic usually only showed up when I was in trouble... You think that's it? He just has no need of it like this?"

"I think so. The fact there's not magic from him every day is good. It's healthy."

"Good. That- That's good." Harry let his gaze go back to Draco, trying to keep his focus. "What'll we do if we can't find his family? The Wizarding World doesn't exactly have a foster care system." Not that Harry would dare let Michael go into one of _those_.

"No, it doesn't..." Draco looked up at him. "Why don't you keep him on?"

"I don't think I'm the best type to raise a kid... I mean, keeping him for now is one thing, but taking him in? I... I'd be afraid I would screw him up somehow."

"You've been doing well enough with him." Draco walked over and ran a hand through Michael's hair. "You'd like staying with Harry, wouldn't you?" Michael was quick to nod, beaming at him.

"Hey, don't team up against me," Harry frowned - or at least. He tried to frown. It wasn't much working.

"Oh, trust me. I could take you all on my own." Right. Okay- That. Hm. Hah. Okay, Harry needed to change subjects or get out of Draco's office. Quickly.

"Right, um, right, okay, aha. So! How's the tulip case coming, then?"

"I have the tulips in custody, now I'm just doing research on the curses put on them. There appears to have been three."

"On every flower or just three curses scattered throughout?" Harry moved to lean over Draco's chair, inspecting his desk. "Jeez, how many cases are you working on right now?" Not that Harry was much better, mind.

"A few, here and there." Draco glanced over at Michael before raising his voice. "What are you drawing?"

"No."

"He's nto finished yet," Harry explained, pushing a few files around to pull out another. "I thought you finished up that case with the cursed ring?"

"I did, I'm just going over out to make sure there's nothing I missed."

"Workaholic," Harry 'coughed', grinning as he pulled out the tulips case. "Those are some pretty dark curses. Hey, hold on as econd, actually. I should have a list of possible suspects narrowed down. I'll be right back." Michael watched him leave before Harry shut the door behind him. He hurried up the stairs and bumped until Ron.

"Any news?"

"Nothing," Harry shook his head, motioning for Ron to follow as he headed for hsi office. "There wasn't even a bit of recognition from him. Even with that Obliviate he has on him he should still remember his parents - at least some familiarity. The fact he doesn't means he really doesn't know those people."

"Bloody hell. So we're back where we started. Alright, alright... Where's the kid now?

"Draco's office. I just needed to grab the list of suspects for that cursed tulips case he's been working on. Any news from St Mungo's?"

"Recovering. It's slow, but it's progress. Around nineteen, now."

"That's good, at least. You'll keep looking for Michael's parents?"

"You know we will. You take care of him."

"You know I will," Harry waved, heading back to Draco's office. "Found what I needed and you better not have teamed up against me anymore. It's very rude."

"Perhaps we have. Perhaps we haven't."

"Mhm." Harry set the folder on the desk, ruffling at Michael's hair and stealing some of Draco's quills to transfigure them into more crayons. Draco glanced over before rolling his eyes and looking amused. "It was for a good cause." Hm, how could he get Draco to come over for dinner tonight...

"I was thinking I'll take him tonight, actually."

"Really?" This was perfect. "I don't know... I know how much work you're doing and I wouldn't want to leave you alone with him the whole time. Do you want me to come over and act as a decoy?"

"He _is_ rather fond of you, and you really do make better dinner."

"Why, Draco. Is that a compliment? Towards 'Gryffindor's Golden Boy'?"

"Do shut up, Potter, we don't need your stupidity rubbing off on him." Laughing, Harry headed towards the door, trying to calm the giggles that still escaped him.

"I'll leave him in your capable hands, then."

"Pardon? Potter- Potter!"

"See you after work, Draco!"

::

"Draco." Harry was standing in the doorway of Draco's office, trying his hardest to not laugh. "Is... Is Michael sitting in your lap?"

"Hm. So he is. And this one had a rude person curse a pair of shoes."

"Who curses a pair of _shoes_." Harry choked on another laugh as he rounded the desk, waving at Michael who blinked at him before giving a wave back.

"Someone up to causing nothing but mischief." Draco was showing Michael some of his cases. "The wearer of the shoes would begin to dance, and then as long as they wore the shoes they wouldn't be able to stop."

"Oh! I think Ron's dad had to deal with something like that. Misuse of Muggle Artifacts." At Michael's look, Harry gave a bit of a smile. "It's usually as boring as it sounds, but we try to pretend it's not. For his sake."

"Alright, Michael. Are you ready to go back to the flat?" Michael nodded before looking up at Harry and handing him a paper.

"Did you finish it?" Harry carefully took the paper, turning it around to look at it properly.

"Uh huh." Michael nodded and beamed, his hands clasped in front of him. The drawing was childishly drawn, but it had the three of them in an average looking home and seeming so _happy_. Harry couldn't stop his growing grin, carefully putting a preservation spell on the paper before he could forget.

"It's amazing, Michael. It's staying in my pocket that way I can look at it all the time." Michael beamed and held his arms out to Harry. Grinning, Harry pulled Michael into his arms and easily settled him on his hip. "Ready to head to Draco's, then?" Michael nodded and wrapped his arms around Harry.

"Yeah." Hugging him close, Harry pushed at Draco's chair with his foot to push him away from his desk.

"C'mon, enough work. It's a little after five already."

"What- Yes, and that means the work's barely begun."

"That's typically when work ends." Harry gave the chair another push, rolling him out of range of his desk. "You're going to work yourself into an early grave."

" _Good,_ " Draco huffed, scooting his chair back in. Studying Draco for a moment, Harry bit his lip and oh, he hoped this worked. Shifting Michael, Harry bent down and stilled Draco's head with a hand under his chin before kissing at the corner of his lips.

"Come have dinner with us?" And oh, okay, he was- There weren't words for how much he was blushing. Draco was silent as he stared up at Harry and- His cheeks were splotchy and red. His blush wasn't some graceful, reserved thing and that made it perfect. Harry couldn't stop his growing grin, hooking his foot around Draco's chair to wheel him in closer. "That a yes?" A moment of silence before Draco's head was barely moving and he was nodding. "Perfect." Against his neck, Michael was hiding quiet laughter.

Really, like this, everything was really shaping up to be, well... Perfect.

::

Hearing Ron's voice, Harry paused from where he was turning the stove off before looking strangely towards Draco. "Ron fire calls you?"

"Rarely," Draco said with a frown as he stood and walked to the fireplace. "Weasel," Harry could hear. "Please let me drop everything I'm in the middle of to bend to your will."

"That would be great, mate, thanks!" Ah, Ron. His humor came out at the worst times. "For once I'm not here to try and get you to play nice, though. Harry there?"

"And what makes you think-"

"Ron?" Harry poked his head out of the kitchen, looking curious. "You could have just left a message with Kreacher, you know."

"Wanted to give you a heads up, so you can make arrangements. Parliament thinks the muggle couple died from magic, I want you to come with tomorrow to investigate."

"Really?" Harry automatically scooped up Michael when he felt a tug to his trousers, frowning as he shook his head. "Do they have any reason to suspect it was magic?"

"Couple was in their early thirties, no health issues, no injuries that anyone could tell, but they both dropped dead on the same day. They found one sitting on the couch, and another on the sitting room floor."

"Huh..." Harry shifted Michael a little, giving a slow nod. "Alright, I'll meet you at the office and we can go there early and check it out." As Harry spoke, he realized Michael was hiding his face in Harry's neck and clinging tightly to him, beginning to shake. "Michael?" Heading back into the kitchen, Harry gently ran a hand through Michael's hair. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You're okay. Everything's alright." What was causing this?

Draco quickly ended the fire call and was at their side in seconds, rubbing Michael's back. He looked to Harry and mouthed, "What happened?"

Harry gave a small shrug, just as confused as Draco. It seemed to have come out of nowhere. "Hey, Michael, do you still want to eat dinner with us?" It took a bit, but Michael finally seemed to calm down, nodding his head. "Alright, let's get you something good to eat, yeah?" Harry hugged Michael a bit closer before shuffling Draco towards a chair, nodding for him to sit down.

"You know, it is my flat," Draco grumbled, slumping in his seat. As soon as he was seated, Harry was effortlessly putting Michael in Draco's lap and giving a grin.

"Yeah, I know." Draco held Michael close, looking for all the world like he was alright with that. Making sure Michael was at least settled down, Harry moved to get their plates, using a few handy spells he had picked up from years at the Weasley's, gaze trained on Michael. He felt so useless when Michael was like this. Michael was quiet, little shakes running through him as Draco continued to rub at his back.

"There we go," Draco murmured. "You're alright, yeah?" At least Harry had Draco's help in this. Sitting down beside him, Harry gave Draco a small nudge and a weak smile.

"Not quite how I pictured the night going." Draco glanced to Harry and shrugged, turning Michael around.

"Come on, Michael. You need to eat your dinner. Then you can grow up to be big and strong." It was hard to hide his laughter when Michael gave Draco a very judging look before picking up a spoon and shoving a bite of food in his mouth, trying to be as difficult as possible about it. It was adorable. "Well ask Harry. Harry goes out and fights evil wizards daily. Because he ate his dinner. _Right,_ Harry?"

"Wha- Oh, yes! Right! Every fight I ever won was because I ate all of my dinner." Don't laugh, don't laugh, just don't laugh. "And vegetables. I ate my vegetables too."

"You see? In fact, I know a little secret." Draco looked around dramatically before leaning closer and lowering his voice. "Little witches and wizards that eat their vegetables have stronger magic than those that don't." There was a long moment where Michael simply stared at Draco before slowly spearing some of his vegetables and popping them in his mouth, nose scrunching up. Harry could say with honest that he had really tried to not laugh. He failed, but he had _tried_.

Draco began to eat from his own plate, smiling up at Harry. Laughter catching in his throat, Harry could only stare at Draco for a long moment and, oh... He knew he was fond of Draco and that he was in love with him but it had never registred just _how much_ he wanted this man in his life.

It was only when Michael's head was drooping that Draco lifted the boy up and stood. "I have another secret, Michael." There was a quiet hum from MIchael, the boy yawning as he relaxed in Draco's hold. "Oh, maybe you'd rather not, you look tired... Harry and I will just eat dessert by ourselves."

"You're very good at this," Harry said, watching as Michael perked up and looked at Draco with the sweetest expression.

"Like I told you, I've done some research." Harry watched as Draco smiled down at Michael. "I thought you were tired." Michael shook his head, looking very serious as he cuddled up to Draco and kissed at his cheek. Draco's smile grew impossibly wider and he walked over to the fridge and took out a chocolate bar. "I suppose, since you did eat all of your vegetables."

"You're going to end up spoiling him, aren't you?" Harry couldn't stop his own grin as he saw Michael eagerly reach for the chocolate bar, still trying to look and act as cute and innocent as possible.

"As if you aren't?" Draco smirked, finally handing it over. "You can only have half of it right now, alright? And then you immediately brush your teeth." Michael gave a nod from where he had already shoved near half the bar in his mouth. Draco rolled his eyes and carried Michael off, getting the boy ready for bed.

Harry lingered around the kitchen, spelling things clean and putting the leftover food away - although he did do the dishes themselves the muggle way. There was just always something about hand washing them that not only got them cleaner, but also was relaxing, almost. Finally, when there was nothing else to be done, Harry turned around in time to see Draco bringing Michael out to the sitting room and laying him across the couch, Summoning a blanket to hand and tucking Michael in. "And we'll be right down the hall."

Michael gave a tired nod, yawning widely before twisting and turning to get wrapped up snuggly in his blanket. Harry gave a small smile, walking over to ruffle Michael's hair. "Come straight to us if you need anything, okay?" Michael seemed to already be drifting, as he didn't even attempt to respond. Draco stood and nudged Harry.

"Come on, then. You've got to get up early." Oh, right. The house inspection for those two dead muggles.

"Yeah... I don't get it. Michael didn't recognize them at all but everything seemed to fit."

"Maybe it'll make sense when you get there." Draco shrugged, walking into the bathroom and leaving the door open behind him.

"Maybe," Harry sighed, following after Draco - it was far too easy to do - and leaning against the doorway. "I feel like I keep missing something, though. Like I'm one step behind this whole mess."

"Weh wine when." Bewildered, Harry looked over at Draco and oh, he was brushing his teeth. Maybe he'd repeat whatever he had said. Draco finished up a few moments later and wiped his mouth, looking up at Harry with a raised eyebrow. "Do you disagree?"

"I dunno, depends on what you just said. I can't speak toothpaste, apparenlty."

Draco rolled his eyes at him. "We'll find them. His parents?"

"What if we don't, though. What if those New Risers..." Harry sighed, rubbing at his face. "How's his magic doing, lately? Is it stabalizing?"

"Definitely stabilizing," Draco hummed. "Still dark, but...less so."

"Good. That's good." Harry stared at Draco for a long moment, finally giving a small smile. "I'm almost glad I found him there, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"Just... He's changing so much in my life. It doesn't feel so lonely right now." Harry stared at Draco, taking in the touseled hair, the specks of toothpaste still around his lips and cheek, and the lack of tension in him. "Not with you two." Draco paused for a moment before shaking his head and walking out.

"Go ahead and shower. I'll go transfigure some clothes for you." Staring after him for a moment, Harry sighed and moved to start taking his clothes off. Draco was always going to be Draco, he supposed... He couldn't wait to get even closer to him.

Harry showered quickly, and when he stepped out there were some clothes laying on the counter for him. When he changed into them, he walked into the bedroom and... Oh Merlin. "Is that... Are you reading a book on child care?" That... That explained so much.

"Yes," Draco answered slowly, not taking his eyes off the page. "It is." Shaking his head, Harry sighed and glanced around the room. It was rather empty and spare, nothing but a few books scattered around and maybe an article of clothing or two. It reminded Harry of his, almost.

"Do you want me to transfigure a cot, then, since Michael's on the couch?"

"Harry, my bed is more than large enough to accommodate."

"Oh." Harry was a bit upset with how okay he was about sharing a bed with Draco. Shuffling a bit closer, Harry caught sight of some papers on Draco's nightstand, frowning. "What are those?" A few of them looked like brochures. Draco quickly tucked them under his lamp.

"Nothing," he said quickly. Giving Draco a strange look, Harry didn't push further, instead easing himself onto the other side of the bed, and, right. Wouldn't be much different than sharing a bed with Ron. Right? Draco kept the light on as Harry climbed in and flipped the page in his book. Wiggling his way under the covers, Harry somewhat carefully tossed his glasses over Draco and onto the nightstand, amused at what was probably an exasperated expression on Draco's face. Probably. Harry couldn't quite tell. "Good night," the blond said with a roll of his eyes.

Giving in the urge to give a small laugh, Harry shifted on his side, eyes fluttering to where he could only see Draco's outline framed by the glow of the nightlight. "Good night, Draco."


	6. Chapter 6

Harry woke up when he heard the first crash. His wand was in his hand and a shield charm on the tip of his tongue as he sat up, only absently noticing that he had been curled around Draco with the older tucked up against him. Draco, however, had also awoken and he gasped, leaping out of bed. " _Michael._ " Swearing viciously, Harry grabbed his glasses and was scrambling out of bed after Draco, casting a quick shield charm followed by a spell to see who else was in the flat. But there was only three separate magical signatures coming up. Harry, Draco, and- Oh no. Draco had stopped in the doorway to the sitting room and was only staring.

Obscurial... Draco had said that it was possible Michael could have been- "Draco, we need to get his attention. _Now_." Without responding to Harry, Draco walked out into the living room and sat down on the couch, a hand on Michael's shoulder.

"Michael. Michael, wake up." Dark, _dark_ magic saturated the room, Harry feeling like he was near drowning in it as he pressed a hand hard against his- Against his forehead before he could stop himself. Just what had they done to this child for this to happen to him, for him to be so afraid that his magic was trying to protect him even when there was no harm. Draco tried again, gently shaking his shoulder. "Michael, it's alright, you're safe. It's me, it's Draco," he continued to say, trying to get through to the boy.

The sharp magic in the air seemed to snap and crackled, Harry gritting his teeth before shaking his head and focus - _focus_. They needed... "Michael... That isn't his name." Would hearing his actual name snap him out of it?

"We don't _know_ his name," Draco said. He ran a hand through Michael's hair and Harry could _see_ the moment that Draco got an idea. The blond tucked a lock of hair behind Michael's ear and leaned closer. "It's alright," he said in a hushed voice. "It's alright. You're okay. Daddy's here." There was a hitch in the magic, almost a break, before Harry felt like the pressure in the room began to ease. Looking down at the still sleeping Micahel, he saw the boy was no longer twisting and turning as he had been, instead moving to curl towards Draco's warmth. "There we are," Draco said softly, scooping Michael up into his arms, blanket and all. "You're okay. No need to fear."

Michael curled up towards Draco's chest at once, Harry finally moving closer and gently tangling his fingers in Michael's hair, the air suddenly calm and still, "Oh, Michael..." What had this child been through?

"You'll need to tell Weasley." Draco kept his voice soothing and smooth as he carried Michael to the bedroom. "Now that it's confirmed, he needs to know."

"He'll want him to go to St. Mungo's," Harry sighed, tossing his wand onto the nightstand and flicking his fingers at the lamp so they had some light in the room. "I don't want that for him. Not when he's still so lost."

"I don't either..." Draco seemed to think things through before nodding. "Get Granger on your side. Appeal to her sense of empathy. Sending him off to a hospital until he's cured can only... What was it... Damage his socialization skills and later hinder him in life."

"That'll definitely get her on our side," Harry laughed, tossing his pillow in the middle of the bed so Michael could be be gently set down. "I do think we should get Healers to look at him, but only if it gets any worse."

Draco sighed, laying Michael down and lying down beside him with an arm wrapped protectively around the child. "I'd so thought he was getting better."

"Maybe he remembered something while he was sleeping." Harry sat down on the other side, almost absently rubbing at his forehead, right where his scar lay off-center. "Something like that... Something that dark? It comes from years of terror."

"I know," Draco sighed. "The sooner we figure out who his parents are, the better."

"I'd just be happy finding out his name. It's starting to feel wrong getting so used to calling him a name that isn't even his."

"Hopefully if his memory improves, he'll tell us." Draco watched him for a moment. "Does all dark magic affect it?"

"Wha- Oh, uh, not..." Harry forcibly dropped his hand, settling back down on the bed and tugging the blankets up around them. "It's more sense memory. I feel so much dark magic and I feel like I should be in pain. It hasn't hurt. Hasn't since the final battle, but..."

"But dark magic still affects you." Draco nodded knowingly. "Not all of us have cores suited towards dark magic."

"Your magic never affected me- Well, it does, sometimes, but never in a bad way." Well, even that could be debated, sometimes, but Draco's magic was always... Calming. Soothing.

"Not all my magic is dark, but dark magic is easier to cast, and when I feel it around me... It has little effect." That made since. Harry was the same way with light magic.

"Does light magic have any effect when you feel it, then?"

"It does... It's hard to explain. Imagine you're in a dark room and you leave that room and step out into the sun. That's the feeling I get when I'm near light magic."

"Doesn't sound too bad." Harry finally took his glasses off and tossed them aside, settling down with a quiet sigh and gently brushing Michael's bangs back. "Every time I feel someone use magic it feels different. There's always this unique feeling to it but I can never really describe it well."

"I know the feeling." Draco sighed. "What time is it?"

"Late." Not willing to reach for his wand and wake Michael, Harry focused on casting a quick Tempus without it. "A little past three."

"Mm... We should try to get more sleep..." Draco curled further around the child, tucking him under his bony chin. Staring for a moment, Harry shifted closer before hesitantly wrapping an arm around Draco and Michael both. Draco's eyes didn't so much as flutter. He breathed in and curled up tighter, exhaling.

"Good night, Draco." Tugging the two closer, Harry couldn't resist a small smile. If this was what his life was becoming, well, he found he couldn't mind too much.

::

"Yes, I can see why people would suspect something magical happened here," Harry said dryly, staring at the completely average house in front of them. "It's so sinister."

Ron shrugged. "Like your old house?" Suppressing a shiver, Harry shot Ron an unamused look as he stepped through the gate. He immediately jerked to a halt at the traces of magic that were scattered throughout.

"Dammit."

"Yeah, thought I felt something. Kinda wish we brought Malfoy. I hear he's tuned into magic."

"He is. Far more than I am, at any rate." Harry had no delusions. He knew he was sensitive to magic but Draco was on a whole different level.

Ron chuckled good-naturedly. "You're spending too much tone around him."

"Really? Feels like not enough," Harry grinned, waving his hand at the door and pushing the now unlocked door open with his foot. "There's traces all over this place, but only a few feel recent. Dark ones." Familiar... So, so familiar. "The Killing Curse."

"Yeah? Alright. Better start investigating, then," Ron sighed. "Reports say they died in the sitting room. I'll check around here, you check... elsewhere."

"Helpful," Harry snorted, heading down one of the halls. Everything seemed in order. It was a cheery suburban home with familiar paintings on the wall, a few religious posters and pictures, and a cross or two scattered throughout. It reminded him of Privet Drive. His lips curling in disgust, Harry found the first door in the hall as pushed it open. "Oh." Oh, no. The bedroom had the most familiar traces of magic and looked as if it had belonged to a child. More specifically, a little boy.

"Harry!" Turning on his heel, Harry quickly hurried to where Ron was, wand already in his hand as he looked around the room. "Either they were better wand wielders than we thought, or your boy lied." Ron held up a picture. In it were the two dead muggles and Michael in between them, a half smile on his face.

Slowly taking the picture, Harry stared down at it before sighing and rubbing at his eyes, "Oh, Michael." That spark he had seen when he had shown Michael had obviously been recognition. "I don't get it. Why would he lie about remembering them?"

"No idea," Ron said with a shake of his head. "Maybe we'll get one if we poke around, yeah?"

"Yeah. Yeah, let's keep looking around. I want to try and find as much as we can before we leave."

"Alright. You take this floor. I'll look upstairs."

::

Harry thought over what he learned until he was back at Draco's flat, Michael on the floor with dozens of crayons and colored pencils around him and Draco in the kitchen, "Hey, Michael."

Michael stuck his tongue out and shook his head. "Nope." Harry raised an eyebrow at that, falling down to sit on the couch and letting out a sigh.

"Michael, I think we need to talk." Michael gave another shake, leaning further over his picture and looking to be concentrating very deeply. "Leonis." Michael froze before slowly turning to look up at Harry. "We went to that couple's house today, me and Ron. I saw the pictures and your bedroom. You remember them, don't you?"

Michael - _Leonis_ looked down at his lap and nodded. "Uh huh." Watching him for a moment, Harry finally gave a small smile and leaned down to gently pick Leonis up and bring him up onto the couch.

"They're not your parents, though, are they?"

"I'm uh-bopped. They're mommy and daddy." Adopted, huh...

"Did they know? That you have magic?" Judging by all the religious things they had around the house, Harry was willing to bet that even if they knew they might not have liked it.

Leonis shook his head and tucked himself up against Harry. "It was devil's work." Harry could only pull Leonis into his lap and hold him close, breath leaving him as if he had been punched.

"They were wrong." God, what this kid had been through. "Those people that took you. Did they say why they took you?" Please let it have been a coincidence.

Leonis shrugged. "Use ob... ub... obtuse?"

"Obscurius." Though it wasn't a question, the boy nodded anyway. Tucking him close, Harry gently ran a hand through the boy's hair, hoping it might help relax him. "Is there anything you still don't remember?"

"...Mommy and daddy..."

"Hey, you remember Sirius? The funny man who can turn into a dog? What do you say we go visit him and his friend."

Leonis looked up at him. "But aren't you gonna take me back?" Staring back down at him, Harry shook his head as he stood up with Leonis safely in his arms.

"Why? You're... You're home right now, aren't you?" Okay, putting it all out on the line there, but, he had to have a little faith sometimes. Leonis' breath seemed to catch and he wrapped his arms tightly around Harry's neck.

"Leaving so soon?" Shit. Cautiously looking over to Draco, Harry stared at him for a long moment before shifting and holding out his hand.

"Want to come visit Sirius and Remus with me?" Draco nodded and walked forward, running a hand through Leonis' hair -

"I think you're more of a Leo." Peeking up, _Leo_ gave a small grin that was the brightest and happiest thing Harry had seen from him.

"Leo, huh?" Harry laughed, hugging the boy close. "It's perfect."

::

Alright, Harry. Quick and easy. Just like a bandaid. "Leo's an Obscurial." Alright, so he probably shouldn't have timed that just as Ron took a sip of coffee, but it was sort of worth it to see Ron actually spit it out. "We're working on it! Draco says his magic is getting better by the day and that maybe in a year-"

"He's a _what_ and you've been _living with him_?!" Oh, dear. Ron wasn't happy about this one. "A year- _Draco_ -" Ah, his face was redder than his hair. That was a sight. " _Harry_!"

"Yep. That's my name," Harry tried for joking.

"Harry." Ron looked serious for all of ten seconds before he fell back into his chair, forehead hitting his desk. "Why. Why is it you always attract trouble like this! I thought it'd be over once we left Hogwarts but no. No."

"We did sign up to be Aurors." He sighed and hung his head. "They were his adopted parents. I did some digging. He's an orphan of the war."

"Dammit." Ron stood up, sighing and running a hand through his hair. It was starting to look as bad as Harry's. "He needs to be put on record and taken to Healers-"

"After everything he's already been through? You think locking him up in a hospital is the right thing to do here?"

"Easy," Ron scolded, punching Harry lightly in the arm and giving an all too familiar grin. The twins had far too much of a say in raising him, honestly. "I said that's what needs to be done, not what we're going to do. Now, who knows about this besides us. Malfoy, I'd guess?"

"Yeah. That's it. Haven't told anyone else," Harry said, relaxing in his seat.

"Let's try and keep it that way-" Pausing, ROn rubbed at the back of his neck. "Hermione. We should tell Hermione."

"Yeah. Probably should." Harry rubbed at the back of his neck. "So. I've been doing some thinking. Maybe since the kid doesn't have a parent-"

"You want to adopt him?" Ron didn't sound the least bit surprised. "Good thing I've already been looking into the paperwork needed. Let me guess, you want Malfoy to have joint custody, too."

"What? No, I was just going to say that we give him to Draco." Groaning, Ron buried his face in his hands and oh, Ron was giving some delightful expressions today.

"Mate, that was a joke."

Harry blinked for a moment. "Well then it wasn't really a funny one. You know he's been reading child care books? Probably since before the raid."

"And you would be completely fine with letting Malfoy have every say in the kid's raising and taking him in? He wouldn't live in Grimmauld Place if that was the case, you know."

"He'd do a heck of a better job than I would," Harry snorted, crossing his arms. Glancing back to Ron, he saw the man was looking at him as if he had suddenly turned into _Lockhart_.

"Mate, you've lost it. I haven't seen you this happy in ages and you've been doing better with that kid a hell of a lot better than I'll probably end up doing with mine."

"Come on, little nameless baby has a million of you all to take care of them. They're gonna turn out just fine. Got the best mom and dad, too."

Sighing, Ron scrubbed a hand down his face before giving a small smile, "Alright, alright. I'll look into the paperwork but think about it a bit more, okay? Oh, Hermione wants you over for dinner. Guess who gets to tell her about this mess? If you guessed you, you're right."

Harry sighed. "Fine, but I'm bringing Leo. She can't say no to that face."

"Fair," Ron nodded, clapping Harry on the back. "You sure know how to bring trouble in our lives."

"Yeah, I guess I do."

::

Harry went down to the Cursebreaker's office where Draco was leaning against the wall and reading over a book. Glancing at the title, Harry gave a quiet sigh, "Any luck on how to help?"

"I have an idea, though it appears you have something else on your mind."

"It seems _you_ need to have a little more faith in Ron, sometimes. He's agreed to keep everything off the record and Leo is visiting Hermione with me tonight. She'll cave in roughly five minutes after Leo smiles at her." That had Leo looking up to stare at Harry with wide eyes.

"Hm. Perhaps. I think I'll try this weekend, then. Sunday."

"Try what, exactly?" Draco looked down at his book before he gave a slight head now towards Leo. "Oh." Cursebreaker. Draco was a- "Oh, that's bloody brilliant."

"If it works. Everything here is just theory. I could just end up making it even worse."

"Yeah, well." Scooping up Leo and hugging him close, Harry leaned against the wall next to Draco and gave as mile. "I trust you."

Draco smiled at him. "What did you really come down here to talk about?"

"Well, I was talking to Ron about where everything is going to go from here." Harry looked down to Leo, running a hand through the happy child's hair before taking a breath and looking back to Draco. "I think you should adopt him."

Draco took a long moment of staring at him before chuckling. "Funny, I was going to suggest the same of you."

"Ron seemed to think the same," Harry laughed, looking down at Leo and grinning as the boy only tilted his head and leaned against him. "You, at least, know what you're doing in all of this."

"But he seems to like you more," Draco pointed out. Raising an eyebrow and looking at Draco as if he was a bit of an idiot, Harry worked very hard on not breaking out into laughter when he glanced down and noticed Leo had the same exact expression on his face. He failed, horribly, but he tried. "Well," Draco said, walking over. He kissed Harry's cheek with a soft smile. "I suppose we have time to figure it out." That had Harry's laughter stopping and he had absolutely every belief that his face was a horrible red color. Draco seemed to be biting his lip against laughter as he reached a hand out to smooth Harry's hair down.

Somehow, he had a feeling that his blush was even worse. "If you're trying to get it to lay flat, it doesn't do it. Hedge is the nicest word for my hair."

"No, just... It's frizzing out."

"It... It what?"

"It's defying gravity more so than usual." Draco kissed his cheek again, beaming at him. Glancing down to look at Leo again, Harry remembered with startling clarity that this little boy was raised by people who had the same ideals as the Dursleys, and yet... Here they were. All of them a- A _family._

"My life somehow just keeps getting even more ridiculous," Harry said softly, tucking Leo close and grinning down at him. "You're something, you know."

"I know."

::

"Heeey, Hermione." Harry had Leo in one arm and was forcibly dragging Draco in by the hand. "So, um, I brought some guests with me for dinner, if that's alright?" Please be alright.

Hermione smiled at him. "Of course it is, Harry. Ron warned me this might happen, anyway." Bless Ron and Hermione for knowing him so well. Offering up Leo as a peace treaty, Harry gave a small smile.

"Say hi to Leonis - although we all think Leo suits him better." As if knowing he had to be cute, Leo gave a shy little wave to Hermione. Perfect.

"Well hello there, Leo," Hermione said before looking to Draco. "Draco, nice to see you." Draco didn't say anything, instead staring at Hermione's belly. Rolling his eyes, Harry gently set Leo down, ruffling his hair.

"He graciously thanks you for your hospitality." Elbowing Draco in the side, Harry gave him a _look_.

"I thought you'd already had a couple." Burying his face in his hands, Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or run before he could. This... This was going to be a night.

"Nah, the other little tiny red heads you see around us sometimes are from everyone else," Ron called from the kitchen, and, no. Ron. Don't help. "Although we do get forced- Sorry, volunteer to babysit sometimes."

"Are you having a baby?" Harry was startled by the little voice, and looked down to where Leo was staring up at Hermione.

"Yes, I am." Hermione smiled down at Leo, gently taking his hand and leading him to the couch where they could sit. "We're very excited, too." Leo continued to stare, pressing a hand against her belly and tilting his head. "If you're very patient, you'll probably be able to feel them move." Leo frowned and seemed to press his hand a little harder. It only took a moment before he withdrew it and stared at his hand with wide eyes. "Harry, I'm keeping him."

"Hermione, you're not keeping my- Ah- Leo. No. You're not keeping him." Clearing his throat, Harry quickly moved to the kitchen. "What's that, Ron? You need help? Coming."

"No, mate, got it all handled in here." Muttering under his breath and sending a wandless stinging hex Ron's way, Harry huffed and sat down on Leo's other side on the couch. "Ow! Harry!" Draco snickered, though he still stood in the doorway, evidently unsure of his place here. Scooping Leo into his lap, Harry slid closer to Hermione and gave Draco a significant look before glancing to the now empty seat beside him. Draco sighed quietly, walking over and sitting beside Harry.

"What's his name?" Leo was staring curiously at Hermione again, Hermione looking delighted at the question.

"Well, if the baby turns out to be a he, we've decided on Hugo. If the baby is a girl, we're going to name her Rose."

Leo's nose wrinkled the same way Draco's did. "Oh." Harry choked on a laugh, Hermione's sour look at him doing nothing to stop him.

"Well," Draco asked to break the tension. "What would you decide on, then?"

"Michael."

"You're absolutely besotted, the pair of you," Hermione sighed, Harry only cuddling Leo closer and grinning widely. "You're going to spoil him."

"Yes, I am. I'm going to horribly spoil him." Poor kid deserved it after everything he'd been through.

Draco only hummed softly, running a hand through Leo's hair. "Perhaps." Please. Leo already had Draco utterly _charmed_. Draco probably wouldn't spoil him like Harry might end up doing, but Draco was just as in love with the kid. "Hugo. Where on earth did you come up with that?"

"It's the name of an uncle who I quite adored as a child," Hermione defended. "The name is actually very respectable!" Oh, there she went.

"Oh, yes, indeed," Draco said with a roll of his eyes. "Whatever you like to believe."

"Looks like we're trapped in the middle," Harry whispered to Leo, ruffling his hair. "Quite literally, it seems."

"Then what would _you_ name a little boy?" Draco colored brilliantly, and muttered something softly. "I'm sorry, what was that? I don't quite understand your mumbling."

"Scorpius Hyperion." Hiding a smile in Leo's hair, Harry watched as Hermione gave Draco a very judging look.

"I always fancied the name Ruby for a girl. And, really, 'Mione, Scorpius sounds like a great name compared to some of the ones Ron came up with in the beginning there."

"Oi! My name's were great, mate! Better than Mione's, at least. Henry, and Louis, and William."

"Ron, you wanted to name the kid the name that's _your_ middle name. I can't even bring myself to repeat it, it was too horrifying."

"What was it," Draco snorted. " _Bilius?_ "

"Yes." This seemed to be the breaking point, as Draco covered his mouth to muffle his laughter. "I mean, Ron, that's a good name. But Ronald Bilius? Do you know how hard it was to hide my laughter when I found that out?" Ron's offended noise from the kitchen was almost better than Draco's laughter. Almost.

"I- I didn't- Didn't realize your parents- Were so _old-fashioned!_ " The offended scoff got even louder, Harry trying to stifle his own laughter. Leo looked confused by all the laughing but didn't seem to mind it too much.

"Harry," Hermione said with a smile. "I'm glad you're happy."

"Hard not to be considering how ridiculous the conversation is," Harry grinned, smiling at Hermione's look. "Thanks, 'Mione."


	7. Chapter 7

"I need to speak with Dawlish." Pausing from where he was in the middle at yelling Lexing, Harry glanced to Draco, noticing the serious look.

"Right. Lexing, get off your arse and go end this bloody Voldemort's daughter rumor nonsense, got it? Draco, you follow me." This must be about Leo, then. Draco nodded and followed Harry quietly. Right. Probably didn't want to mess this up. "Want any backup on this one?"

"Just...be ready in case everything goes south." Standing outside of Dawlish's office, Harry made sure they were alone before capturing Draco by the chin and giving him a swift kiss.

"Come on, us working together on something? No one in this world can stop us." Though Draco turned red, he smiled and gave a nod.

"Alright. You're probably gonna hear shouting."

"I wouldn't expect anything else." Harry gave Draco another quick kiss before letting him go, knowing there was no doubt a blush on his own face. "Good luck."

"Right." Draco nodded again and turned to the door with a huff. "Here goes." Draco knocked on the door and entered. "Auror Dawlish."

"Cursebreaker Malfoy. To what do I owe _this_ visit?" Staying outside the door, Harry made sure to give Dawlish a dirty look.

"I'm sure you've heard the progress made with the child picked up from the raid a week ago."

"Vaguely. I've been more concerned with bigger things, lately." There was nothing 'bigger' than a lost child who was taken by _New Risers_. Okay, Harry, deep breath. Don't reach for your wand.

"He is a wizard. An orphan of war, adopted by the muggle couple that died recently."

"I see. Is there a reason you're telling me this instead of the department actually in charge of dealing with this affairs? Hell, Hermione Weasley would be a better one to talk to. She has that whole uproar about child services or whatever it's called."

"Because we've also learned the reason he was taken by the New Risers, sir." A long silence followed, Harry near laughing as he heard Dawlish's impatient huff.

"Well? Out with it, what was it? Why did they take him?"

"He's an Obscurial, sir. They planned to use him for their own purposes." This time the silence was deep and heavy, Harry fingering his wand as he took a step closer to the door.

"What."

"An Obscurial."

"How the hell- Obscurials don't exist anymore, Malfoy! This isn't the Dark Ages!"

"Perhaps, then, you could find out another way to explain the fact he destroyed my sitting room simply from a nightmare?" There was a sound of Dawlish sitting down in his chair heavily, Harry peeking through the crack in the door.

"Why are you here. You should be reporting him to St. Mungo's."

Draco took a deep breath. "I believe I can safely separate the Obscurus from him."

"That's impossible. There's no way to remove an Obscurus from a child-"

"Actually, Auror Dawlish, there is." Harry stepped into the room, trying not to grin at the glare he was given. "Newt Scamander - the famous magizoologist? He wrote about Obscurials when he was younger and how he managed to extract one from a child." Alright, Harry might have been doing a bit of his own research lately.

"I think that part of the problem of why most wizards can't remove them is because they believe the Obscurus to be a creature, a beast. I believe it to be more similar to a curse."

"Let Cursebreaker Malfoy attempt to remove the Obscurus. If it doesn't work, then I'll make sure the child is sent to St. Mungo's." Which wouldn't be happening, because he had absolute faith in Draco that this would work.

"As well, once the Obscurus is removed, I'll take the child into my own care." Looking to be near growling, Dawlish looked between the pair of them before giving a tense nod.

"Malfoy, I want news by the end of the day, understand. One way or another. Potter, later we're going to have a little chat about spying on the man in charge of your _job_."

"Actually, sir, I asked him to be here as back-up, as he's the Auror who's had the most contact with the child and would be able to testify on his behalf. If you'd like I could take him and Auror Weasley down to the Cursebreaker's office with me to oversee everything."

"Very well, very well, now get out of my office the pair of you." Trying not to grin, Harry gave a nod and walked out of the office, far too pleased. It was too fun riling that man up.

"Quit grinning like a ninny."

"Like you aren't just as pleased."

"You're still a ninny."

"Mm. Maybe a bit." Harry cast a quick Notice-Me-Not charm before moving forward, hand resting on the back of Draco's neck as he drew him into a proper kiss. "You don't see to mind, though."

" _Harry!_ " At the dramatically offended tone, Harry couldn't stop his laughter as he kissed Draco's cheek this time, tugging him along.

The two got downstairs far too quickly, Ron already waiting there for him. "You two ready to get this done, then?" Leo was standing beside Ron, one hand absently clutching his robes. It was a bit cute.

Draco knelt down beside Leo. "Leo. You know how sometimes when you're upset, things break around you?" Leo gave a slow nod, hesitantly looking between him and Harry. "That... That's part of your magic. But it's not a good part of it. If you'd like, I can try to separate it from you."

"So my magic is...bad?" Leo's face scrunched up, looking slightly confused. "Can you fix it?"

"Only a part of your magic. It's like... You know how sometimes adults get upset and so, they hit people, without meaning to?"

"Most of 'em mean it." Jesus. This kid was like how Harry acted when he was younger. Bitter and untrusting.

"Sometimes, but it's a little more complicated. Did you ever break something, and then later, you were upset because it was broken and you wished you hadn't broken it?"

"Yeah." Leo frowned, shaking his head. "What does this have to do with my magic?"

"Sometimes, your magic breaks things because it thinks that'll help you be safe, or make you happy, and your magic doesn't ever feel bad about breaking things, right now."

"So you'll get rid of the parts that hurt people, right?"

"Right. Just the big scary part."

"But if I'm not magic, doesn't that mean I can't stay?"

Draco laughed softly. "I'm not taking all your magic away. But if something does happen, and you don't have magic anymore, you can still stay. I promise." Leo launched himself at Draco and hugged him tightly, Harry grinning and wishing he had a camera because, really. Adorable. "Alright, I'm gonna to need you to sit up on the counter, okay?"

Nodding, Leo let Draco sit him down on the counter, Leo sitting still and absently kicking his leg a bit. "Alright, this might be scary. Is it okay if we blindfold you and make it so you can't hear until it's over?" Thinking about it, Leo finally gave another nod, looking a little pleased. Draco nodded and flicked his wand, and a moment later, Leo was blinking complacently. "Alright. I want you two ready in case something goes wrong, and be ready to catch it. This may take a while."

"Why do I get the feeling something horrible is going to happen?" Ron asked, drawing his wand out along with Harry and looking nervous. "Should I be worried?"

"Alright, then," Draco said, and he stuck his tongue out and flicked it at Leo. A moment passed, and slowly, colors and lights and strings began to appear in the air. "Now, where are you..."

"It's going to be knotted," Harry mumbled, staring at the strings and frowning. Most of them looked like simple spells, but there were a few...

"There you are," he heard Draco mutter. He pointed his wand at a small black thread with an even smaller knot in it. "Alright, then, come on. C'mere..."

"That's what's been causing everything?" Ron frowned, shaking his head. "That's the big bad Obscurius?"

"Shh... Come on, then, come on. Come on out." The small black thread shivered and rippled, Harry nervously casting shield charms around the room as he watched Draco extract it out of the mess of other threads. The black thread didn't seem as if it would ever end. "Alright. Now where are you really?"

"I think that's just the beginning of it," Harry said to Ron, keeping a careful eye on Leo. The boy seemed to be almost- Not quite twitching, but shifting nervously and looking uncomfortable. "Draco."

"Make sure he's alright. Keep him calm. Can't have this get out of hand." Moving around carefully and avoiding any of the magic traces, Harry gently took Leo's hand, rubbing at the back of the palm to show that he was there for him. Leo seemed to calm down, and Draco took that as the go-ahead, beginning to really draw the Obscurus out of him.

The magic with the cursed ring had been _nothing_ compared to this. This was dark and black and looked as if it was poison given life. Harry clutched Leo's hand more tightly, just resisting casting a shield charm around Draco. He didn't want his own magic to interfere, but that didn't mean he wouldn't if Draco was in trouble. "Almost there, almost... Fuck, but you're a big one, aren't you?"

"Did he just swear?" Giving Ron a look that he hoped conveyed 'shut up', Harry looked back to Draco. This was more complex magic than even they probably realized. "But he just _swore_."

"Shh, shut it. I've almost got 'im." Seeing Leo start to get nervous again, Harry knelt down a bit to rub at his back, hoping it calmed him a little. THe last thing they needed was for Draco's concentration to break now. "There we go. I've got him. Now-"

Leo sneezed, and all hell broke loose.

Draco's concentration slipped just enough for his magic to lose control of the Obscurius, the overwhelming dark magic filling the air and making Harry curse as he grabbed Leo and darted for the floor, jerking Draco down with him. "Fuck," Draco cried, trying to get back up. "Make sure Leo's fine, I'll take care of this!"

"Like hell!" Harry snapped, keeping Leo close to him and whistling at Ron. "Containment field, now! I don't want this damn thing leaving the room! Shield charms at each point!"

"The room's already warded! As long as that door stays closed, it's not getting out!"

"Let's keep it that way." Harry squeezed Leo's hand before gently pushing him to sit under the desk, Leo looking a bit confused but not quite scared. Putting up the strongest shield charm he knew, Harry looked to Draco. "Tell me what you need."

"Corner it, stop it, something! We need to cast a finite at it! Or _ten!_ " As he spoke, the magic charged at his chair, throwing it across the room.

"Is a finite all it'll take?" Harry's first reaction was to throw a stunner but he didn't want to make things worse by mixing magics.

"It's an amalgamation of all his uncast curses and hexes! Now, it's as though they're all being cast at once!"

"Not a good thing!" Ron swore violently as he ducked, looking to the two of them. "So what? We just start casting finities at the thing?"

"Until it finally dies!"

"Right, both of you, keep some shields up and for God's sake don't let it touch you." Harry stood up, wand already snapping out and spell leaving. " _Finite!_ "

" _Finite!_ "

" _Finite!_ "

All three of their spells hit the Obscurus at the same time, a screeching sound in the air near drowning everything else out. Harry knew it was a sound that came from magics clashing together, but it almost sounded like the Obscurius was screaming. "That's it," Draco called. "Keep at it! We've got to put a stop to each and every curse!"

Hearing vague shouting from outside the door, Harry cast a few silencing charms before returning to throwing magic at the rapidly disappearing dark magic. Harry made sure to take the time to check on Leo every few moments, still safely tucked under the desk.

Finally, Draco cast the last Finite, and they all bore witness to the Obscurus fizzling into oblivion. The three stood silent for a few more seconds, Ron finally clearing his throat, "That it, then?"

"Yes," Draco sighed, crouching down and lifting the spells on Leo. "It's over." Leo blinked and wrinkled his nose, staring up at Draco before holding his arms out and giving a smile. Draco smiled and picked him up, flicking his wand at the door to open it. A group of Aurors and Hit-Wizards were standing outside with their wands drawn, Harry snorting and looking to Ron.

"Yeah, yeah, leave it to me," Ron sighed, holstering his wand. "Excuse me, is it lunch time already? Get back to work! You don't get paid to stand outside eavesdropping on people! Move, move!"

Draco looked down to Leo as the Aurors dispersed. "I think you still have magic. Wanna double check?" Leo nodded eagerly, Harry chuckling as he leaned against the desk, feeling exhausted as he offered his own wand to Leo.

"Just sort of flick it at something, okay? Whatever feels natural."

"If you would really like a spell, try to say 'Lumos' when you flick it."

Nodding seriously, Leo flicked the wand a bit aggressively, as if afraid it wouldn't really work, "Lumos!" The light was weak and small, but there was definitely light coming from the end of the wand.

"Well, look at that. You're still magic." Draco smiled, holding Leo closer. Gently taking his wand back, Harry gave a little laugh.

"I can't wait until he goes to Hogwarts and people find out just who's raising him."

"You mean you can't wait until he finds himself in _Professor Longbottom's_ office."

"I have to admit, I might be looking forward to that a little," Harry grinned, running a hand through Leo's hair and smiling softly. "For once, everything's working out."

::

There was a soft knocking at the door, barely heard through all the noise of the Burrow. However, Harry had been listening for it and quickly answered. "Sorry, something came up-"

"It's fine, Dray." Harry grinned and quickly pulled the man into a kiss before easily stealing Leo from his arms and holding him close. "Although the twins were starting to volunteer to go out and look for you."

"Oh, bloody hell, I'm glad I got here when I did." Laughing, Harry tugged Draco inside before closing the door, setting Leo down and giving him a smile.

"Everyone's in the living room if you want to say hi." As soon as he was running off, Harry was turning and helping Draco get his coat off, brushing some snow off the top of his head. "What did you do, lose a fight to a snow drift?"

"Long day at the office," Draco sighed. Combing through the hair with his fingers, Harry gave a quiet hum as he gave Draco another kiss. It was hardly _his_ fault the man was so addicting. "Come on, then. I hear I'm expected."

"Very much so." Grabbing his hand, Harry dragged Draco towards the living room, pausing at seeing everyone was looking at... Oh. "Do you have a camera?"

"Afraid not. Thought you might."

"Not on me."

Leo was sitting up on the couch and carefully holding a newly born Rose Weasley, Teddy sitting on the couch beside Leo. Leo was looking at Rose with wide eyes and looked utterly _enchanted_. Seeing the two, Leo looked up and his eyes grew even wider, "Can I have a little sister?"

Beside him, Draco's jaw dropped and his face went red. "Well- Well, it's not- You-" Trying not to burst out laughing, Harry held a hand to his mouth, shoulders shaking.

"Yeah, Draco, can he gave a little sister?"

Draco automatically turned to Harry. "As soon as you can give him one."

Harry would not blush. He would not. "You're horrible." Draco frowned for all of three seconds before he smiled softly and reached a hand out to smooth Harry's hair down. "It's not frizzing. It's not."

"Of course it's not, love."

"Daaad, I want a baby sister!"

"Well," Draco said, looking back to Leo. "A baby sister is a very big responsibility. I don't think you're ready for it."

"I'm ready!" Shifting, Leo suddenly froze before very carefully letting Hermione take Rose again. Making sure she was absolutely fine, Leo nodded and jumped down, looking stubbornly determined. "I'm totally ready!" It reminded Harry far too much of himself when he was younger. Judging by Ron's choked laughter, he realized it as well.

"Are you sure? You'll have to feed her multiple times a day, and change her diaper as well a few times a day, and give her baths, and-"

"I can do it, I can do it!" Leo took a deep breath, forcibly stilling himself before nodding seriously. "Right, what if we get a _puppy_ first. Then I can prove I can take care of a baby sister!"

Draco chuckled. "Is that acceptable, Auror Potter?"

"You know, Cursebreaker Malfoy, I think we might have reached a good compromise here."

"Alright, but if we get you a puppy, you might not get _anything else_ for Christmas."

"I'm willing to accept that burden."

"Alright, alright, you win!"

"I win!" Leo threw his arms into the air and cheered, near everyone in the room trying not to laugh at the sight. Shaking his head, Harry lifted Leo into his arms. He was starting to get a bit too big to carry so easily, but Harry saw that as a good thing. A very good thing.

"Yes, yes, you win. Now c'mon, let's get you something to snack on until dinner. Draco, you wanna help?"

"Alright, if I must."

"Don't any of you dare touch that cake!"

"We won't!" Harry called back, setting Leo down at the kitchen table. "Maybe." Taking his wand out, Harry cast a quick silencing charm around them, nodding as he put his wand away. "Now that nosy people can't listen in, I have something I wanted to ask you." Leo gasped softly and sat up straight.

"Are you gonna get married and live happily ever after?"

"Wha- No! No, no, no, no- No- No." This kid was going to be the death of him.

"Then what _do_ you have to ask me," Draco asked softly.

"I, um, well- Well, I know it can get pretty cramped in your flat, now that you have Leo, and I just-" Clearing his throat, Harry averted his eyes, knowing with absolute certainty that his magic was probably making a bigger wreck out of his hair and his entire face was no doubt flushed. "I wanted to know if- Well, if-" Taking a breath, he said the next bit all in one gasp of air. "If you two might want to move in with me." His answer came in the form of Draco grabbing Harry and pulling him into a harsh kiss. He supposed that could be taken to mean 'yes.'

It was a moment before Harry cupped Draco's cheek and pressed back, probably grinning a bit too much for it to really be an effective kiss. "Yes. Yes, a million times yes." Draco beamed widely at Harry. "Yes."

"Way to keep me guessing," Harry laughed, leaning in for another kiss before he felt a tug on his sleeve.

"I'm hungry."

"Alright, alright. We can celebrate later. Let's get Leo something to eat."

Nodding, Harry grinned as he ruffled Leo's hair, removing the silencing charms and hearing complaining Weasleys that had been trying to listen it. It was such a mess some days and it felt like it would never be okay again, but right now... Right now it was better than it could ever be.


End file.
